With Round 3 of the Downhill World cup only being one week previous it was time to head to Italy for Round 4 at the infamous Val Di Sole. Probably the most punishing course on the race calendar.
After some promising results the previous week in Leogang, the team were keen to get going on the classic VDS course.
With mixed weather and a looming mountain mist it was intimidating in every way. First up for the IFR team were the Junior Men, Oscar Griffiths and Ryder Lawrence.
Ryder showed good speed in qualifying coming in 14th, whilst Oscar had an off which meant he finished 30th in qualies. Sadly that meant he didn't quite make the cut for finals.
Ryder was clearly feeling it, as he managed to find even more speed in the finals and ended up in 10th, awesome work Ryder!
He had this to say:
‘I had a really solid week on the bike with lots of progression. We tweaked my practise plan a little which really helped me deliver a run I am stoked with’
Up next were Joe and Lou, Lou had a solid run in qualifying and came in 12th place, some 20 seconds back from fastest qualifier Myriam Nicole. She drew confidence from this to take into the semis, but sadly missed the cut for the finals by just 0.4 of a second! The margins are super tight at this level... Lou had this to say:
‘VDS is one hectic track, physically and technically which can make it super tough on the mind. After surviving qualifying, it gave me confidence to push in my semi final run but I just missed the cut by 0.4. Big learning this week that I can take into Les Gets.’
Joe had a stormer of a ride in semis and came away with 9th place, unfortunately weather played a role in the outcome of finals and he came away with 23rd.
‘Stoked with my speed & creativity in VDS. Sitting 5th at the last split and ending up 9th in semi’s was super encouraging. I was frustrated with how the weather influenced finals, but it sure has me fired up for Les Gets in a couple weeks!’
Onwards to Les Gets, which at time of writing is just a week away on the weekend of the 4th-7th July. Let's go!
📸 @nathhughesphoto