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Review Tahnée Seagrave's run reaction from every World Cup round she raced
The British rider had her first injury-free season in two years in 2021. Join her as she documents every race run of her UCI Downhill World Cup campaign via her race vlogs.
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Tahnée Seagrave is one of the best female downhill mountain bike riders in the world. The 26-year-old Brit has been a firm fixture of the UCI downhill scene since she burst onto the international stage as a teenager back in 2012. She's added a Junior World Championship and seven World Cup wins to her trophy cabinet since then and you wouldn't bet against her adding more to her haul.
Seagrave entered the 2021 UCI World Cup season as one of the most experienced riders in the paddocks. But after an injury-plagued couple of years, she was just looking forward to getting back on her big bike.
In Tahnée's Run Reaction, you can follow her journey every step of the way throughout the 2021 downhill season. The vlog series tracks every stop of the World Cup series, giving you her insight on what went right during each race and where there's room for improvement.
01
Post-Snowshoe vlog – A pretty happy ending
Check out Tahnée's thoughts on races five and six in Snowshoe, United States:
4 min
Tahnée's Run Reaction: Snowshoe
Tahnée Seagrave reacts to her results in the final two rounds of the 2021 UCI DH MTB World Cup season.
From an outsider’s perspective, a full season of top-five finishes with a win and a second-place thrown in for good measure would seem like a pretty good return; especially if you’ve been carrying a neck injury from the first round of racing.
Going into rounds 5 and 6 of Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike World Cup in Snowshoe, Seagrave was sitting third in the overall after an impressive second-place finish last time out in Lenzerheide. A relatively short turnaround and long-haul flight to the US would be followed by six consecutive days of practice, qualifying and racing, meaning she would be pushed to her limits after an already gruelling end-of-season schedule.
Having a double header is always hard because you feel like you have to save some energy
The Snowshoe course is also one of the most physically demanding courses on the World Cup circuit. Littered with unforgiving rock gardens from top to bottom, focus is key with there being a matter of millimeters between a winning line and a serious injury.
"The best way through the rock gardens was to just look up, let go and hope for the best."
For that first race of the double-header, Seagrave crossed the line with a time of 3:50.647, which was good enough to go into the race lead at that moment. With six more riders still to come, Seagrave would tumble down the leaderboard as the other girls went faster. In the end, she managed to hold on for fifth, scoring useful points for the overall.
Seagrave held on for fifth in the first race of the double header
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
I had loads of things to work on before the Saturday race. I was quite happy to have an extra day of practice, another qualifying and another round to learn some more
In the second and final race in Snowshoe, Seagrave had to deal with being held at the start gate after a crash further down the hill featuring another rider. The red flag for this incident was just before she dropped in. Seagrave was left at the top of the hill and having to keep warmed up and in the zone for 20 minutes.
A red flag saw Seagrave back on the rollers to get in the zone
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
"You've warmed up and you're ready to go. You have to wait around and all the thoughts start creeping in. It changes your groove a bit and you're not really in the zone anymore. It can always happen and you have to adapt to that."
The delay to proceedings didn’t appear to impact her and Seagrave flew out of the gate, recording the fastest time in sector 1 of the whole race.
The course's rock gardens are unlike anything else on the World Cup circuit
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
The change in the course between rounds though meant that there were even more rock gardens for her to contend with – a feature that she’d struggled with throughout her time in Snowshoe. That said, her times had improved on the previous race, showing she’d started to get to grips with the bone-shaking terrain. Seagrave ultimately had to settle for fourth on the day after three other racers bettered her time.
"I'm pretty happy considering the season I’ve had with fourth overall. It's obviously not where I want to be. The girls are on fire. The competition is so tough and I'm just roaring and ready to go for the next year."
02
Post-Lenzerheide vlog – Back in the groove
Check out Tahnée's thoughts on race four in Lenzerheide, Switzerland:
4 min
Tahnée's Run Reaction: Lenzerheide 2021
Tahnée Seagrave talks about her action-packed weekend in Lenzerheide, where she finished second with aplomb.
Seagrave came into the Lenzerheide round in Switzerland with a lot to fight for. The British rider began the race weekend sitting fourth in the World Cup overall race and still in the hunt for that title.
This season's World Cup had been a mixed bag for Seagrave before Lenzerheide, due, in no small part, to suffering from neck problems since a slipped disc earlier in the year. But she managed to bag second place in qualifying the day before Lenzerheide, putting her in a really strong position before the race.
Going into Lenzerheide, I was a little bit nervous, but it just got a bit better each day; it comes in waves
Riding second to last down the hill, Seagrave was out of the gate like a rocket on her signature pink bike, riding near-perfectly for an incredibly smooth run and into first place.
"On this track, it's really hard to find a good balance between knowing where to attack and where to back off a bit."
Tahnèe put in a stellar performance on a difficult course in Lenzerheide
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
It was an incredible and dynamic run for Seagrave and would have landed her the top position had Myriam Nicole not come through in the last ride of the race to take first place following an incredibly strong and disciplined run of her own. Following Lenzerheide, Seagrave sits third in the World Cup overall race with 662 points with leader Nicole on 810 points.
"In hindsight, I wouldn't change anything. We worked really hard and it went pretty well. So I was happy with that."
Seagrave now looks ahead to Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia, USA, on September 15-19 for what will be a double round of World Cup racing for her and her fellow downhillers. Coverage will be live on Red Bull TV. Don't miss it!
03
Post-Maribor vlog – Battling against the odds
Check out Tahnée's thoughts on race three at Maribor, Slovenia:
4 min
Tahnée's Run Reaction: Maribor
Tahnée Seagrave reacts to her spirited performance at Maribor on August 15, 2021.
After securing her eighth World Cup win in Les Gets last time out, things came crashing back down to earth (literally) for Seagrave in Maribor. A big crash in practice on Friday meant she was still carrying some battle scars and a swollen hand come Sunday's finals.
The damage to my body after my training crash was pretty gnarly. I was cut up everywhere, swollen and bruised
After qualifying sixth, Seagrave put in a clean race run, improving her qualifying time by more than four seconds and securing her a spot in the hot seat. Her time at the top didn't last for long though and all the remaining riders bar Vali Höll put in faster times. Eventual winner Myriam Nicole blew away the field with the only run in the 3:35s, more than four seconds faster than Seagrave. Check out photos from the Maribor weekend and read more about it here.
Tahnée Seagrave rounded the podium in fifth place
© Bartek Wolinsk/@wolisphoto
"Sector One suited my riding really well and I knew exactly where I wanted to put my wheels. The girls were on fire, the times were tight and after my crash the day before, I was pretty happy with where I was."
04
Post-Les Gets vlog – Reflecting on a win
Check out Tahnée's thoughts on race two at Les Gets, France, a stone's throw from where she grew up below:
3 min
Tahnée's Run Reaction – Les Gets
Tahnée Seagrave reacts to her dramatic win at Les Gets on July 3, 2021.
It all came home for Seagrave at Les Gets. Despite carrying a nasty neck injury and after having a torrid qualifying run, she upset the odds to grab first place by 0.252 seconds from Myriam Nicole.
You can never count me out – I put my doubts to one side and rode the race with a big heart
It was Seagrave's first World Cup win since the start of the 2019 World Cup season and came in front of fans for the first time since restrictions on fans attending race were eased. Check out photos from the weekend below and read more about it here.
Fans run onto the finish line to celebrate
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
Bruni ambushed by fans
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
Cow bells, horns, chainsaws - check
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
Rain didn't stop the support
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
Sector 3 was where the race was won for me
The race was more or less on home soil for Tahnée, who honed her riding skills on the hills around the French Alpine village.
05
Post-Leogang vlog – Super stoked
Check out Tahnée's Run Reaction from the season-opener in Leogang below:
3 min
Tahnée's Run Reaction – Leogang
Tahnée Seagrave reacts to her race weekend in Leogang, where a good performance saw her come 5th.
Returning from a broken leg and dislocated ankle during the delayed and much-shortened 2020 racing calendar, Seagrave looked like she was getting back to her best form. After recording some impressive splits at the World Championships, she added some consistency to her race runs, which were capped off by two third-place finishes at the double-header in Lousã, Portugal.
A long off-season dented this momentum, while a bout of chronic fatigue caused by over training wasn't the best preparation ahead of the 2021 season opener.
It's been a long wait to return to racing
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
Come race day, though, Seagrave pulled things together in difficult conditions. Her first sector split was only bettered by eventual runner-up Vali Höll, but she was caught out attempting the higher, faster lines in a tricky and treacherous woods section. While she remained off of the pace set by the winner and reigning world champion Camille Balanche, Seagrave was just happy to be back on her big bike and competing on the world stage.
Back to racing on the world stage
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
I'm super stoked considering the last few years that I've had
"I'm super stoked considering the last few years that I've had," she said. "Self-confidence is still something I have to teach myself, because it doesn't come naturally at all. I realised how powerful it was on a track like Leogang.
"The weather is so unpredictable and it ruins the track. It's not nice for the riders or the trail builders. I've got one under my belt now. I know what I need to work on and I'm just excited to get back racing and get that momentum and race rhythm back."
Unpredictable weather affected the track
© Bartek Wolinski/@wolisphoto
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