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Drop in to see the latest from qualifying at the UCI DH World Champs
Read on for all of the video action, photos and qualifying results from the 2018 UCI DH World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
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When is a qualifying session not a qualifying session? When it’s the UCI DH World Championships qualifying and seeding session in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
The Worlds very much acts under it's own slightly altered rule book and running order. What's normally a white hot, knives out timed session at a regular World Cup – to decide who's going to be (potentially) in with the best shout of getting the business done the following day – is more of a build-up session at World Champs.
Take a look at the 2018 UCI DH World Championships course and some of the riders in action alongside Gee Atherton in the video below:
4 min
Join Gee Atherton for a look at the 2018 UCI DH World Champs course
Gee Atherton talks us through the 2018 UCI DH World Champs course in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, alongside practice highlights.
Four hours of training, as well as relatively fast chairlifts back to the top again, meant that the riders lucky enough to have made their respective national squads were right up to speed by the time qualifying kicked off.
2018 UCI DH World Championships Women's Qualifying results
PLACE
RIDER
TIME
1.
Rachel Atherton
3m 38.076s
2.
Tahnée Seagrave
3m 38.774s
3.
Tracey Hannah
3m 43.525s
4.
Cecile Ravanel
3m 47.780s
5.
Marine Caribou
3m 50.086s
Britain's Rachel Atherton topped the Elite Women's time sheets. She didn't have it all her own way in 2018's Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup season, but she still came out of it with the overall title, her sixth. A win on Saturday would make it another historic double for the dominant female rider of the last decade.
Welcome to Switzerland
© Bartek Woliński
A fine day in Lenzerheide
© Bartek Woliński
Some interesting spectators on top of the course
© Bartek Woliński
The woman who was responsible for taking the most points away from Atherton during the World Cup season was Tahnée Seagrave, who, for the second season in a row, won three races. She crashed in her seeding run, but was still just over half-a-second back on Atherton. The British pair were over five seconds clear of third place Tracey Hannah.
There was drama when France's Myriam Nicole stopped the clocks in third place, only to be DQ'd after her run for riding around a track marking pole. She will start Finals on Saturday, though.
Tahnée Seagrave begins her rainbow stripes campaign
© Nathan Hughes
A very colourful Rachel Atherton on top of the course
© Nathan Hughes
Defending Elite Women's world champion Miranda Miller
© Nathan Hughes
In the Elite Men's class, New Zealand's Brook Macdonald continued his run of form with a fastest time of 3m 03.206s. The 'Bulldog' went fastest in qualifying at the first World Cup of the year in Croatia and it's hard to imagine a more popular potential winner at the biggest race of the year. The victor of the Vallnord World Cup round, France's Loris Vergier, was second, just six tenths back on Macdonald, while Australia's Connor Fearon was third.
2018 UCI DH World Championships Men's Qualifying results
PLACE
RIDER
TIME
1.
Brook Macdonald
3m 03.206s
2.
Loris Vergier
3m 03.815s
3.
Connor Fearon
3m 04.987s
4.
Martin Maes
3m 05.049s
5.
Aaron Gwin
3m 05.386s
Behind them lay an interesting battle. The victor of the final round, Belgium's dark horse Martin Maes, came home in fourth, ahead of the USA's Aaron Gwin.
Conditions for practice were perfect
© Bartek Woliński
The dirt was tacky and packed down in covered areas
© Bartek Woliński
As well as custom-painted bikes, riders were also sporting new kit
© Bartek Woliński
Danny Hart bounces across Lenzerheide's infamous rock garden
© Nathan Hughes
When Greg Minnaar rides, everyone watches
© Bartek Woliński
Ed Masters sees what's ahead of him
© Nathan Hughes
Gwin, on the other hand, is still regarded by many as one of the very best that there's ever been, but he's still to claim the rainbow stripes of world champion. He sprinted hard for the line, but was rewarded with 'only' fifth.
Aaron Gwin is getting more and more comfortable on the big rig
© Nathan Hughes
Marcelo Gutiérrez charging on a straight
© Bartek Woliński
Loris Vergier is part of a very strong French squad
© Bartek Woliński
Can Finn Iles add a senior Worlds title to the junior one he won in 2016?
© Nathan Hughes
The 2018 UCI World Cup overall title holder, France's Amaury Pierron, was back in seventeenth with some work to do, while his national team-mate and defending 2017 world champ, Loïc Bruni, was 10th. Another former world champ, Britain's Danny Hart, was sixth.
Loïc Bruni has the 1 plate as defending champion
© Bartek Woliński
Roots aplenty, but no problem for Brook Macdonald
© Bartek Woliński
A crash in practice resulted in no lasting damage for Amaury Pierron
© Bartek Woliński
Adam Brayton, riding on the edge as usual
© Bartek Woliński
Check out more World Champs content here:
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