Dusty, loose conditions made for a wild debut for Lake Placid’s new World Cup course. Steep, sandy sections and big jumps made for a physical and challenging course. The perfect proving ground for a champion to make her mark.
Vali Höll turned around a rough season, riding without the support of her struggling YT team in the U.S.A., to tame the Whiteface course and step back onto the top step of a World Cup podium for the first time in a year.
Hemstreet left fighting for second
After making finals the hard way, forced to go through Q2 with the fastest time, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco RaceD Division) finished 10th in Lake Placid. That hurts the Canadian’s chances in the overall. Vali Höll, her rival in that race, added to her points total by qualifying fastest on Friday.
Camille Balanche (Yeti/Fox) proved her retirement tour isn’t just for show. The Swiss Olympian held the hot seat until Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off) lay down a blistering time of 3:33.2. With only two riders left at the top of the mountain, that put Nicole back on the podium.
New Zealand’s Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory Racing) started steady, but fought back in the lower part of the course to finish the 0.034 seconds behind Nicole. That guaranteed the Kiwi a podium finish in Lake Placid.
Höll clinches the crown
Höll needed to finish top 4 to clinch the World Cup overall. Riding in the world champions stripes, but without a World Cup win in over a year and with her team in turmoil as YT fights for its survival. All of that seemed far from the Austrians mind on track in New York. Höll stormed to a decisive victory, finishing 2.815 seconds ahead of Nicole to claim the win.
“It took me way too long to win again. It’s been a long year, way too many downs and a few ups. Happy I could finally take the win,” a very happy Höll said at the finish. “I’m back with my old support crew, SRAM and RockShox, it’s been amazing. We got a travel budget from Red Bull. We made it happen. I brought my two most important people from home. That’s a sick holiday!”
With the win in Lake Placid, Höll claims a fourth World Cup overall title, third in a row, to add to her world championship win.
Myriam Nicole finishes second, Sacha Earnest third to round out the podium.
Hemstreet is still sitting second overall, but now with Tahnee Seagrave only 123 points behind her in the title race.
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