Talking points for me...
I hope that the spectators that Gracey Hemstreet went into are OK. There was at least one woman I saw limping away in the immediate aftermath. It's pretty rare for this to happen at real pace, so hopefully there are no bad injuries and no knee-jerk reactions re crowd safety.
Bruni - well, that's is an interesting one. Jackson put down a run for the ages. He risked it all-in, it paid off. He won at home with a barnstormer of a run and sealed the overall in the process. It worked out for the best all-round. If Jackson had crashed, suffered a serious injury and DNF'd then Bruni DNS and still won the overall... would anyone be asking awkward questions about the psychology of applying pressure in such a high risk sport? Thankfully, that's all just whataboutery now. Hopefully Loic can get home and enjoy some family time and the more important things in life.
And Camille Balanche. Wow, she is as hard as nails (we already knew that anyway), but it is such a crazy contrast between her taking a slam like that, a quick dusting off and completing the run vs footballers with all their pseudo gang/jail ink rolling about on the grass feigning injury. I hope she stays involved in some way as she is such a calm, tough competitor that she will have oodles of advice and help to give others.
For me this was the best race I have watched on the old tellybox for a while.
We knew Jackson was going to go all in... title race, great conditions and a home crowd meant he was going to make it count. But I was not prepared for just how on edge he would be and those few sketchy moments were edge of the seat stuff. Then he sent the drop and was so close to not making the corner... incredible. On top of that we got the absolute looks of befuddlement when Loic was not in the start hut. I know neither of them wanted the season to end that way but considering the top players were a full 2.5 seconds behind Jackson I am not sure an uninjured Loic could have made it stick enough to guarantee the overall win.
Absolutely echo what @Ragmop said about Camille and extend that to Gracey. She was clearly in a huge amount of discomfort but she still went and stood on that podium. I really thought Camille would DNF after that slam but no, dusted herself off and cracked on. How many times do we see it though - riders with injuries just strapping up and dropping in anyway.
Coverage was pretty good too.
The Bruni moment is a contentious one for me. Jackson put down and absolute heater, no denying that. But Bruni was either fit to ride or not. Was he hovering around the start gate to keep a bit of psychological pressure on Jackson? If he'd declared he was unfit to ride before Jackson went down, then Jackson could just piddle down, roll in around 10th with a safety run and take the championship.
But it strikes me as a bit sour to turn up at the start hut with no intention of taking the run.
I love Bruni's riding but for sheer entertainment, the best man won in my opinion.
If Jackson had crashed, suffered a serious injury and DNF'd then Bruni DNS and still won the overall...
They can/could, but IMO Loic was 100% right to make Jackson think he had to put down a heater, absolutely correct. He was leading the title and he's got every right to make the other guy think he needs to give 100%.
Others may completely disagree with me, but i'm 100% in my mind.
Bruni was probably in a state that he could roll down (I mean, a Bruni 'roll down') but not in a state where he could bother the top 10. If Jackson had punctured or crashed that might have been all it took for the overall.
As it was he was quite right to be at the top ready to go but pull out when it became clear Jackson had just won the race.
Also, he's got a kid due in 2 days or something, doesn't he? Totally agree with making a business decision in this case.
sleeper edit is here 😀 , and soundtracked by one of the fav songs of my teenage years.....I haven't listened to it for over 35 years but I can still remember every word...
forum not letting me paste link to sleeper on YouTube, someone else can do it.....
I think only Loic will ever know what the tipping point was for him to run or not. If Jackson had been conservative/slower than Luca (and whatever other permutations there were mathematically) at what point would Loic have thought he could finish high enough to take the Championship with a run of some sort? And when would he have known whether that was the case, I'd assume not before going up the hill in any case.
Or a less cynical view was he just up there in pure denial/hope that he'd be putting a run in regardless and some time at the top by himself gave him the clear head to realise it wasn't happening and with a child due imminently look again at the risk vs. reward of attempting a run injured and ending up in hospital.
If he knew he wouldn't be taking the start but wanted to keep the pressure on Jackson, is that really any less sporting than all the athletes turning up full of painkillers/bandaged up and putting a brave face on in front of their rivals despite illness/injury/mental fatigue etc. but hoping that your opponent is secretly in worse shape than you?
FWIW I'm a big Jackson fan in general and would have preferred him to win with a straight shootout but don't personally feel there was anything that out of order in what Loic did.
I'm with @weeksy although it seems many on PB disagree.
Of course Loic was going to hold his cards to his chest until Jackson was done. Loic wouldnt be an elite, world champion level sports person if he'd done anything else. There was absolutely nothing immoral or unsporting about it. Goldstone could have flatted. Crashed. Just had a bad run.
JG has even said himself that what he loves about the sport is that his run, does not affect what others do, and vice versa. I genuinely believe thatJG will be gutted that Loic didnt get to race him fair and square. They have been pushing each other all season, its been great.
Well deserved win for Jackson. Gutting for Loic but he'll come back.
Cami Ballanche = Hard. As. Nails. Absolute hero.
They can/could, but IMO Loic was 100% right to make Jackson think he had to put down a heater, absolutely correct. He was leading the title and he's got every right to make the other guy think he needs to give 100%.
Also completely agree with this.
Loic wasn't giving the title away for free. Whatever his mind was, by being at the top seemingly ready to drop in he made it a race that Jackson had to win.
Totally agree Loic did the right thing, although maybe he could have stood in the start gate or rolled to the first camera and said something rather than just pull the "Irish goodbye".
See he's got quite a bit of hate for his actions, which I could only image would be worse if Jackson crashed/punctured and Bruni only needed to ride down gently* for 29th to take the overall - I'm sure some people, unaware of the injury, would have been even more critical of him for not trying to win the race.
*Don't know if this would mean bike-park-pro-pace, or a 10 minute bimble and walk.
Also Luca Shaw. With no quali points this round, I would imagine most of the field were aiming for a safe top 20, like 95% effort, rather than going all out? With the exception of JG and LB who both would benefit from going last meaning for them this is the most important quali run of the year. But despite this Luca still manages to slot inbetween them. And in doing so, gives Loic the chance to watch Jacksons run
I didn't like it at first, but then I though about it and Bruni has to see what JG does before saying if he's going to ride or not.
I don't know what the permutations were exactly, but if Jackson comes down 4th or something maybe Bruni needs a top ten finish to win the overall, he's going to give that a go! But gunning for 1st wasn't possible in the state he was in.
Agree he should probably have maybe come to the start gate or got on the podium though.
The hate brunis copped for this is ridiculous.
its a competition its completely fair to make jackson go out and win it. Also he needed to put in P3 i dunno what the maths says but I think p10 was a long way back maybe he felt he could do that.
What a race - both Men's & Women's.
Camille getting up and carrying on after that slam was amazing.
Gracey's crash was something else, real heart in mouth time - not seen anyone go into the crowd for a long time. Hoping the spectators are OK.
Vali seemed somewhat liberated - shorts, a heater of a run, and then just having a f*** it moment and enjoying the crowd. It really came across in her interview after the race too - seems like she's had a massive weight lifted. Guessing she's not short of offers for next season.
Andy Kolb seemed in good spirits, and already has a new team lined up - rumour is he might be in pink & blue......
Jackson's run was on the edge - he really wanted that, a pity that Loic didn't race, but as others have said he was quite right to get to the top and wait and see what Jackson did.
Did I imagine it or did Ronan pretty much land to flat off the Stevie Smith drop?
Looking froward to next season already!
All very fair and reasonable. I think as I typed my comment, I knew it's the racers approach to psyche out the opposition. All's fair in love & war.
Would've been nice to see Loic give the fans a bit more but if the missus is about to drop, he probably judged the PB hate to be slightly less impactful than the wife's reaction.
Great results all round and a fantastic season of racing
Yes, I'm definitely of the view that this is hard-nosed professional sport and all Bruni did was to make Goldstone work for it. There's no way he should cop any hate for it. Even Loic's head might be a bit scrambled as he has a huge smash in practice, is carrying a lead in the series, has a baby due in a couple of days etc.
I usually watch the mens first then the womens. To open the full replay on discovery plus and the mens start with the women walking up to the podium really ****** me off!
the post-quali, pre-race analysis from PB provides this breakdown:
• Jackson Goldstone in 10th // Loic Bruni needs 30th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 9th // Loic Bruni needs 30th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 8th // Loic Bruni needs 30th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 7th // Loic Bruni needs 25th or better (26th for Bruni would provide enough points to tie Goldstone, Bruni would lose the tie-breaker)
• Jackson Goldstone in 6th // Loic Bruni needs 18th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 5th // Loic Bruni needs 11th or better (12th for Bruni would provide enough points to tie Goldstone, Bruni would lose the tie-breaker)
• Jackson Goldstone in 4th // Loic Bruni needs 8th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 3rd // Loic Bruni needs 7th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 2nd // Loic Bruni needs 5th or better
• Jackson Goldstone in 1st // Loic Bruni needs 3rd or better
So my reading of that is prior to the racers heading up or their finals run, there is the scenario where Jackson is in 8th, 9th or 10th where Loic requires only the points from last place. (and once they had started, from 29th as Daprela DNF'd). Thats worth the trip up the gondola at least, and contemplating the most painful 2.5km walk/scoot of his life if it gets him the overall victory. Or could have been a bluff and he had no ability to even take the start ramp - but a situation only possible as he had beaten Jackson in qualifying.
Jackson in 7th required a 25th, meaning beating Dunne who I think rode the bottom third on the rim to end up less than 30 seconds back - unlikely from Loic who could barely walk and didn't warm up.
Tuhoto in 24th was only 12 seconds off the win, just to give perspective on the "could have taken a chill run to finish midpack" comments
XC ignored yet again......on a supposed MTB website. And success for British riders.......with Evie winning the XCC Overall, and Charlie joining a small band of British riders to win a XCO World Cup.........
Looking at the Juniors & U23, there's not a lot coming up behind the current Elite riders, which is worrying. Get your arses in gear British Cycling........
XC ignored yet again......on a supposed MTB website. And success for British riders.......with Evie winning the XCC Overall, and Charlie joining a small band of British riders to win a XCO World Cup.........
Looking at the Juniors & U23, there's not a lot coming up behind the current Elite riders, which is worrying. Get your arses in gear British Cycling........
why not start a thread on the XC ? I mean a thread title with downhill results is going to focus on that.
back to the DH, Kolb being pipped to second by 0.001 seconds has to be gutted
Bruni hasn’t done anything wrong, silly if people are giving him stick.
great entertainment, the order of riders was interesting after mixed qualifying.
thought it also showed what a long and brutal season it’s been with some big names not getting the results (on the day and during the season) they would have expected.
gutted for Pierron too, was on a great run.
Bruno was just playing the game. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, as the breakdown from PB above shows.
Do we know why LB didn’t make the podium for the overall? Probably mentioned somewhere but I’ve not seen off so.
A post purporting to be from Finn said he was in hospital. Obviously lots to be said about choice to go then Vs ability to stand at the start line, but...
TBH that's the bit I'm not impressed with. Feels more than a little disingenuous.
The hate brunis copped for this is ridiculous.
Yeah, Loic has shown again and again that he's super-competitive but also respectful and wants fair play. A consomethinge pro who loves the sport. He definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt and I'm sure most racers would have been up there on the off-chance that JG had a 'mare and they could roll down to take the overall.
I like Loic more than Jackson, but definitely wanted JG to win after his four-in-a-row stint this season (and Bruni's won plenty before).
The right result, in the wrong circumstances. Just hope Loic recovers well and is still racing against Max and Asa as well next season. It's gonna be even more exciting.
Slightly off topic but mentioned already, Kolb to the syndicate has now been announced. Not sure how long Greenland is tied in for or whether he will be on the move?
I'm actually surprised the response here has been so pro Loic. Obviously we have no insight into what actually happened, but I think it's a shocking show of sportsmanship. My interpretation is that he went to warm up with no intention of dropping in unless Jackson puts in a time Loic could beat cruising e.g. crashes but finishes. He's purely there to give the illusion he's fine so that Jackson has to go for a win it or bin it run.
After Jackson put down that run I think he should have at least have had the decency to roll down then shake Jackson's hand and say "I can't match that today, well done".
If Jackson had crashed during his run it would have left a pretty sour taste.
I'm actually surprised the response here has been so pro Loic. Obviously we have no insight into what actually happened, but I think it's a shocking show of sportsmanship. My interpretation is that he went to warm up with no intention of dropping in unless Jackson puts in a time Loic could beat cruising e.g. crashes but finishes. He's purely there to give the illusion he's fine so that Jackson has to go for a win it or bin it run.
Yup, and exactly what he should have done. Someone made a good analogy from Drag Racing where an injured car will ALWAYS line up and give the impression it's going, if the person red-lights, or crosses, it's a win for the injured car.
We've seen it loads with football where they still give the impression a player is playing until the last opportunity...
Why would you not make him ride ?
But even if Bruni bailed and told everyone, Jackson STILL had to ride it and get down respectably to win the overall.
But trust me, Bruni couldn't 'cruise' down for anything other than P29. If you're not FULLY on it there, you're dropping a tonne of seconds, so so quickly.... If JAckson had gone P10, Bruni still wasn't dropping in.
Slightly off topic but mentioned already, Kolb to the syndicate has now been announced. Not sure how long Greenland is tied in for or whether he will be on the move?
Sadly, if we're of the opinion that this is hard-nosed professional sport then Greenland probably won't be offered another contract with SC. We all know he's had illness issues and, TBF to SC, they have stuck by their man through it. But based on results he's on thin ice. I'm told he's a lovely lad and he certainly had the pace and style pre-illness. But the law of the jungle is inherent in pro sport. The other problem is that the F1-isation of World Cup DH means he's possibly in danger of dropping out of the elite level.
I hope not. He's a cracking rider to watch.
This was Greenland's 4th season on the Syndicate. I'd be very surprised if he was locked in for any longer than that. He only qualified 4 times in 2025. Best result was a 5th. Also his younger team mate is basically the Bruce Lee of mountain biking and the hottest property in the game.
Yeah, negotiations will be pretty grim this time around.
My knowledge of drag racing ends with The Fast and The Furious so I'm not sure where the parallels to downhill lie. Is Loic the cop or vin diesel?
My point is that the image of downhill is not one of ruthless competitiveness... riders celebrating each other's victory (which I often think is insincere but now the done thing and Vali gets an unfair reputation of being a sore loser for not doing it...), riders from opposing teams practicing lines together, rivals training together between races, the crying about 5 man podiums. To me this is a sport trying to sell itself as being part of the MTB community rather than hyper elite like road racing
Just started on the dwontime podcast, valid comment from Neko that it is so impressive that one of the riders most in the spotlight of both media and fans has a huge crash in last practise, but manages to conceal that he could barely walk for hours - an impressive feat from him and Specialised Gravity that he didn't think many teams would be able to pull off.
My point is that the image of downhill is not one of ruthless competitiveness...
There are still a few outliers but DH is now fully almost 100% ruthless professionals. The jump in riding standards over the last few years should tell you all you need to know. (although Ronan Dunne seems to be steadfastly refusing to do any media training which is why he is my current favourite rider).
Like weeksy said, if Jackson had finished 10th or lower Loic could have rolled down to finish in 29th and won the overall. It would have been insanity to not line up at the top with those odds.
And lets not forget, the reason Loic was able to play this game was because he qualified in 1st. I think that earned him the right to play the tactics any way he wanted to.
Redbull marketing and their whole business strategy is a strange world.
Rampage this weekend - look out for RB athletes being given a finish line can by the most gorgeous model they could find, and the others begrudgingly handed a plain water bottle by a bored looking crew member in a headset.