Pinkbike Primer: Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Snowshoe DH World Cup 2023
After six rounds in Europe, the 2023 World Cup series heads across the pond for the first of two North American rounds to close out the season. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 DH World Cup's seventh round at Snowshoe.
Race Briefing
After a two-week break since the incredible last round of frantic racing in Les Gets the DH World Cup season has crossed over to North America for the final races of the year with Snowshoe hosting the seventh round. Snowshoe kicks off the first of two back-to-back World Cup rounds in North America with the series moving onto the legendary Mont-Sainte-Anne next week. Quickly becoming a modern classic World Cup venue Snowshoe has delivered some of the most exciting racing in recent years and we think the 2023 event will be no different.
Since it first appeared on the World Cup circuit in 2019 the American venue has yet to deliver a repeat elite men's winner and with the incredible stats that no elite male rider has won more than once so far in 2023 we could be in for even more unpredictable racing. On the elite women's side, Vali Höll has performed very well here, winning two of the four recent World Cup races here. Vali will be looking for redemption after a crash in the top turns at the last round.
Heading into Snowshoe the overall standings are either wide open or very tight at the top. Currently, The Junior Men's overall has Ryan Pinkerton holding a clear lead of 88 points after three race wins in a row. Valentina Roa Sanchez has a tighter lead in the Junior Women's overall title fight as she leads Lisa Bouladou by only 10 points. Moving to the Elite and Loic Bruni still leads the men as he sits ahead of Jackson Goldstone by 57 points. The whole of the top four elite men are split by less than 200 points. Vali Höll is really running away with the elite women's overall title as she is over 400 points clear of Nina Hoffmann and she could wrap up the title this weekend if things go very well for her.
During the two-week break after the wild weekend in Les Gets some of the field decided to head over to America one week early and take part in the Fox US Open. In the downhill race, we saw Dakotah Norton and Nina Hoffmann take the top spots on the podium and the $15,000 prize money. Dakotah Norton has been having an amazing back-half of the season and will definitely be a rider to watch as he will be hoping to get another podium finish and maybe a first World Cup win in Snowshoe.
We hope that helps get you prepped for this weekend's racing and keep scrolling to gather more details to get you ready for the penultimate round of DH racing in Snowshoe.
What happened at the Last Round?
Conditions were incredibly loose in Les Gets for the sixth round of the 2023 season as the already dry course was thick with dust. Valentina Roa Sanchez bested the anti-grip as she ended the race 3.398 seconds up on Sacha Mills. Valentina also takes over the series lead into the final two rounds. Lais Bonnaure was the best Junior French rider at home as she crossed the line with a time good enough for third, 3.543 back.
Ryan Pinkerton was wild in the French dust as he was unmatched on his way to winning by 3.727 seconds. Sitting behind the back-to-back World Cup winner Jon Mozell secured second place after sitting in the hot seat for most of the racing. Evan Medcalf made it three North American riders in the top three as he went 3.778 back.
Marine Cabirou took her first win since the 2020 World Cup season as she was dominant on home soil. With the race favorite Vali Höll crashing out on the first turn Marine Cabirou secured a huge win as she bested Monika Hrastnik by 3.979 seconds. Nina Hoffmann overcame an illness to leave Les Gets with a third-place finish.
Les Gets delivered another French elite men's win as Benoit Coulanges finally won his first elite World Cup and made it a perfect weekend. It's been a long time coming but finally, Benoit reached the top of the podium as he beat Andreas Kolb by 0.16 seconds and continued the 2023 trend of a different elite men's winner at every round.
Elite Women
1st. Marine Cabirou: 3:47.390
2nd. Monika Hrastnik: 3:51.369
3rd. Nina Hoffmann: 3:51.807
4th. Mille Johnset: 3:56.171
5th. Gloria Scarsi: 3:57.194
Elite Men
1st. Benoit Coulanges: 3:19.573
2nd. Andreas Kolb: 3:19.733
3rd. Loris Vergier: 3:19.936
4th. Jackson Goldstone: 3:19.983
5th. Loic Bruni: 3:20.228
Junior Women
1st. Valentina Roa Sanchez: 4:07.007
2nd. Sacha Mills: 4:10.405
3rd. Lais Bonnaure: 4:10.550
4th. Lisa Bouladou: 4:11.448
5th. Sacha Earnest: 4:13.937
Junior Men
1st. Ryan Pinkerton: 3:25.358
2nd. Jon Mozell: 3:29.085
3rd. Evan Medcalf: 3:29.136
4th. Léo Abella: 3:29.858
5th. Kimi Viardot: 3:32.600
You can view the full elite results here.
Who is Leading the Overall?
After the sixth round of the 2023 season, it is Valentina Roa Sanchez, Ryan Pinkerton, Vali Höll and Loic Bruni who lead the overall standings.
Elite Women
Elite Men
Junior Women
Junior Men
What's the Track Like?
Ben Cathro, Thibault Laly, and Jackson Connelly head down a wet Snowshoe track last year.
Track Stats:
Length: 1.9km
Descent: 411m
First World Cup Appearance: 2019
Elevation Profile:
![photo]()
Length: 1.9km
Descent: 411m
First World Cup Appearance: 2019
Elevation Profile:
When and What Racing is Happening this Weekend?
The schedule provides non-stop action and a tough few days for riders with not a lot of time to rest. Here is a look at what you can expect to find happening this weekend.
All times EDT
Wednesday, September 27
• 14:00-17:00 // Training - Juniors Only
Thursday, September 28
• 08:30-10:30 // Training - Group B
• 10:30-12:30 // Training - Group A
• 12:30-14:00 // Training - Group B
• 14:00-15:30 // Training - Group A
• 15:45-16:00 // Qualifying - Junior Women
• 16:00-16:45 // Qualifying - Junior Men
Friday, September 29
• 08:30-10:30 // Training - Group B
• 10:30-12:30 // Training - Group A
• 12:45 // Finals - Junior Women
• 13:15 // Finals - Junior Men
• 14:00 // Qualifying - Elite Women
• 14:40 // Qualifying - Elite Men
Saturday, September 30
• 08:30-9:30 // Training - Qualified Women
• 09:30-10:30 // Training - Qualified Men
• 10:45 // Semi-Final - Elite Women
• 11:20 // Semi-Final - Elite Men
• 13:00 // Finals - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Finals - Elite Men
Note: All times are local and subject to change by the UCI/event organizer.
What's the Weather Expected to be?
For the penultimate round of the 2023 season, it looks like we are in for some great conditions that will offer a mostly dry week of weather although there could be a few showers to spice up the track in Snowshoe.
Wednesday, September 27
Mostly cloudy // 14°C // 25% probability of precipitation // wind 11km/h
Thursday, September 28
A thick cloud cover with a thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon // 16°C // 40% probability of precipitation // wind 9km/h
Friday, September 29
Cloudy with a stray shower // 18°C // 80% probability of precipitation // wind 6km/h
Saturday, September 30
Sunny to partly cloudy; a beautiful start to the weekend // 18°C // 20% probability of precipitation // wind 9km/h
Weather forecast as of Monday, September 25 from Accuweather.
What Happened Last Time in Snowshoe?
In the Junior Racing, Gracey Hemstreet mastered the tough conditions to come out on top by just over three seconds. Pinkbike Racing's Aimi Kenyon had an incredible run to cross the line in second place and 2021 World Champion Izabela Yankova finished in third. For the Junior Men, it was once again Jackson Goldstone on the top step of the podium as he found over five seconds on Tegan Cruz. Sebastian Holguin Villa completed the top three, nine seconds off the pace.
Camille Balanche backed up her top qualifying run with the win in Snowshoeas she managed to go the whole week without a crash in the slippy conditions. Camille's wild run placed her four seconds up on Myriam Nicole who had a big mistake in the third split. Nina Hoffmann wrapped up the top three, six seconds behind.
What a race for the Elite Men, the track was drying but it still wasn't easy for the final riders. After not even thinking he would race Amaury Pierron proved once again why he is the rider to beat this year pulling a first World Cup win away from Bernard Kerr. Mountain biking's fastest vlogger still managed to take his best results in 15 years of racing with 2nd place and only 0.4 seconds back.
Elite Women
1st. Camille Balanche: 4:28.585
2nd. Myriam Nicole: 4:32.730
3rd. Nina Hoffmann: 4:34.692
4th. Vali Höll: 4:44.489
5th. Monika Hrastnik: 4:45.362
Elite Men
1st. Amaury Pierron: 3:34.442
2nd. Bernard Kerr: 3:34.856
3rd. Andreas Kolb: 3:36.250
4th. Ronan Dunne: 3:37.013
5th. Greg Minnaar: 3:37.962
Junior Women
1st. Gracey Hemstreet: 5:24.114
2nd. Aimi Kenyon: 5:27.324
3rd. Izabela Yankova: 5:30.714
4th. Jenna Hastings: 5:38.788
5th. Valentina Roa Sanchez: 5:39.740
Junior Men
1st. Jackson Goldstone: 3:50.127
2nd. Tegan Cruz: 3:55.452
3rd. Sebastian Holguin Villa: 3:59.173
4th. Lachlan Stevens-McNab: 4:02.580
5th. Ryan Pinkerton: 4:04.032
How to Follow the Racing?
Tune in to Pinkbike to catch all the Snowshoe coverage throughout the week with results, photo epics, bike checks, race analysis and more.
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that said, bruni is a beast under pressure & worried he'll spoil the fun (in one or both cases).
He mentions possibly jumping in the last few rounds. So I guess I’m being optimistic hoping he’ll actually jump in the booth!
- We all ride bikes we know you ride bikes and want to show yours off no need to try to pedal through crowds of people instead of walking like everyone else.
- Backpack coolers are awesome to bring some cold beverages on the mountain with you.
- Mountain is reversed compared to most, village is at the top.
- Most people work their way down to the bottom of the hill as the race finishes up so you end up with TONS of people that have to get bussed out back to the top, or try to eventually get a chair on the lift or walk back up to the top.
- Grocery shop on your way in and plan to cook unless you want to wait an eternity to eat in the village.
- Best party area is right before the last rock garden
- People show out for the Friday night short track race its awesome!
- HAVE FUN see you there!
Can confirm.
Almost Heaven, West Virginia…..
Dak for the win.
Jordan not only has to navigate his way throughhis firstyear of elite racing - but is on the team with the pressure pot of superstar Bruni, and (their words, not mine) the 'new hope' Finn who desperately wants the overall. I'm not for one second suggesting Jordan does not get 'supported', however the dynamic in the Syndicate and Specialized camps must be quite different.
Lets face it - both of them are fast as hell, and proven winners!
He's learning the hard way, but I'm sure he can overcome it and become stronger. He has the talent (I guess if Jackson crashed so often last year was also because he had to push the limits)
She just not long posted an update:
www.instagram.com/p/CxqXYgWsjFK
Edit - the question was already answered, I see.