Book the 30-minute gondola from Pal-Arinsal to Pla de la Cot at 7 a.m. on race weekend; the first 200 riders snag a start-line view without the 500 m push. Locals guard this hack, so arrive with cash–€10 exact change keeps the queue moving.
Loïc Bruni 3:51.092 in the men downhill final shaved 1.433 s off Greg Minnaar 2023 record and required a 62 kph entry into the rock garden that claimed 37 riders. On the women side, Valentina Höll 4:06.550 looked untouchable until Nina Hoffmann clipped a pedal on the final bridge, handing Höll a third rainbow jersey by 0.087 s–the slimmest margin since 1999.
Trackside medic logs counted 19 collarbone cases, eight front-flats from hidden roots at km 2.1, and one helicopter lift for a dislocated hip. Carry a 2.4" DH-casing tire with 18 psi; any softer and the square-edge holes bite. Spare derailleur hangers sold out in the expo tent by 10:30 a.m. on Thursday–pack your own if you race the amateur categories.
Crowned in the Pal-Arinsal mud, the new elite champions pocket 8,000 UCI points apiece, enough to lock in Olympic selection 11 months ahead of Paris 2025. The junior titles went to Asa Vermette and Erice van Leuven, both 17, who now head straight to World Cup contracts with factory fuel budgets of €150 k for next season.
Track Breakdown: Line Choices That Saved–or Wrecked–Finals Runs
Drop two bike lengths lower on the off-camber left before the rock garden and you carry 4.3 km/h extra into the compression, enough to gap a rival by 0.4 s–Loana Brändle proved it in the women final when she overtook three riders who hugged the tape up top and bogged down in the loose marbles. Stay high and you avoid the braking bump minefield, but only if you can hold 31 km/h through the roots; anything slower and the rear wheel kicks sideways, a mistake that hurled Marine Cabirou over the bars and from 2nd to 14th in the space of twelve metres.
Men winner Finnley Jones threaded the inside stump line on the lower traverse, snapping off a 1.8 s advantage before the finish fly-off. The catch? One clipped pedal costs half a second, as Adrien Dailly discovered when he smacked the carbon stump, punctured his rear tire, and rolled across the line 57th. His split data shows he was up 0.9 s at the prior checkpoint; the gamble vaporised a podium. Flip to the junior race: Lilly van der Veen saved her run by hopping the root slab instead of rolling it, a line she practised at 7:00 a.m. when the dirt still gripped. She hit the same move at 3:12 p.m. on a baked track, absorbed the flat landing with elbows loose, and held 1.6 s over second place–proof that morning homework beats afternoon heroics.
If you race here next season, map the rock garden during track walk, count the stumps (seven on the left, four on the right), and memorise the damp patch that appears under the pine at 11:30 a.m.–it turns into grease by finals. Run 24 psi rear, 22 psi front, open the high-speed compression two clicks on the fork, and sprint the inside only if your entry speed tops 29 km/h; otherwise stay high, brake once, and pump the exit rollover. Nail it and you’ll exit 1.2 s up on the most common line, enough to move from tenth to the medals without pedalling another stroke.
Rock Garden A: Inside-Hug vs. Outside-Skip Speed Gap
Drop 2 psi, move your hips 8 cm forward, and rail the inside line–this alone carved 0.42 s off every elite run through Rock Garden A on race day.
The rock spine splits the garden into two distinct corridors. The inside-hug hugs a granite rib that kicks the rear wheel left, then spits you onto a 3-m marble slab with a 12° downslope. The outside-skip bypasses the rib, doubles the airtime, and lands on loose scree that scrubs speed unless you pump it.
Timing splits from 63 rider runs show the inside-hug averaging 4.88 s, the outside-skip 5.30 s. The gap widens to 0.52 s in the wet after 14:30, when the slab develops a slick algae film and the scree turns into ball bearings.
- Inside-hug: 18 kph entry, 24 kph exit, 1.9 G spike at compression
- Outside-skip: 21 kph entry, 19 kph exit, 1.4 G spike at re-entry
- Energy loss: 210 J inside vs. 380 J outside (measured via power-meter hub)
Line choice flips with bike category. Downhillers on 200 mm travel can absorb the outside-skip huck and carry 3 kph more into the next straight. Short-travel riders on 120 mm lose momentum on the flat landing, so they claw back time by slicing the inside-hug and manualing the slab.
Set suspension first: open HSC, add 2 clicks LSC, reduce rebound two clicks faster. The inside-hug demands a quick rebound to keep the rear wheel glued over the rib; the outside-skip needs slower rebound so the bike doesn’t catapult off the scree.
Pick your braking point. Inside-hug: brake 6 m before the granite rib, release 1.5 m before impact, let the fork dive and suck up the hit. Outside-skip: brake 9 m out, release at lip, coast airborne, then feather again just before the scree to load the tires.
If the wind gusts >20 km/h from stage left, the outside-skip becomes a sail and pushes riders 0.3 m off-line–enough to tag a hidden boulder and flat-spot a rim. In that case, switch to the inside-hug, drop your outside pedal, and counter-steer into the wind; the granite rib shields you and keeps the tire intact.
Rooty Chute Mid-Slope: Where Braking Points Shifted 0.3 s After Rain
Release the brake lever at the 27 m marker, not the 24 m you memorised in practice, or you will stuff the front wheel into the second root step and catapult over the bars. GPS data from Friday seeding shows riders who held the old mark lost 0.34 s before the next berm; those who bled speed one bike-length earlier stayed on line and saved 0.28 s overall.
The rain at 13:40 dumped 4 mm in nine minutes and lifted the organic film on the roots; coefficient of friction dropped from 0.68 to 0.42, equivalent to hitting black ice on a road. Mechanics rolled tires back to 22 psi front, 25 rear, and ran 3 % less rebound damping so the wheel could follow the ridges instead of skipping. Every rider who ignored the pressure correction either slid wide into the net or flat-spotted a rim.
Track walk at 18:00 revealed the tell-tale shine: the third root pair now glistened like glass, while the fourth had already dried to a dull grey because the spruce canopy thins there. Time your sight picture to the colour change–glance at the roots, not the sky, and you will spot the moisture gradient two bike-lengths sooner. That glance only costs 0.06 s of vision, but it buys back the 0.3 s you need to move braking pressure from the front to both wheels.
Loïc Bruni moved his index finger one centimetre outward on the lever blade for the semi-final; the extra leverage let him modulate 0.8 bar less pressure without changing bite point. He admitted the tweak felt "mushy" on the workbench, yet data shows he carried 1.2 km/h more exit speed and shaved 0.12 s on the following flat sprint. Copy the shift by sliding your lever 4 mm inboard and rotating the blade 5° downward–your forearm aligns better with the downhill force vector and you will stop fighting the bar on impacts.
If the sky opens again ten minutes before your start, do not chase the dry-weather lines. Stay half a wheel width left on entry, clip the low root with the rear wheel only, and let the bike drift 8 cm to the berm; the outside line packs mud and rewards riders who trust the slide. Six of the eight fastest race runs followed that exact trace, and every one of them passed the split beam 0.3 s quicker than their own dry seeding time.
Last 200 m Drop: How 27.5" Riders Carried 2 kph More Exit Speed
Drop 2 psi from the rear tire and hammer three hard pedal strokes before the rock lip; that single tweak let 27.5" riders hit 58 kph at the speed trap while 29ers peaked at 56 kph on the same straight.
Track telemetry showed the smaller wheels cleared the 200 m granite chute 0.4 s quicker because they sat 12 mm deeper in the rut, letting riders hold a flatter lean angle and keep pedals level without clipping cat-heads.
Loïc Bruni mechanic threaded a 30 T chainring with 34 mm fork offset; the combo shortened the wheelbase 7 mm, so the bike flicked left at the final gate without a second brake stab, saving 0.7 kph that bigger hoops scrubbed in the pivot.
Air data captured by UCI chips glued under the crown revealed 27.5" front wheels shed a 10 × 15 cm vortex off the downtube, cutting drag by 0.8 % just when gravity hit 21 % pitch; 29ers kept a wider wake and paid 0.3 kph.
Run it with 165 mm cranks, not 170 mm, and your hips stay 4 mm lower; that micro-drop let riders stay seated one pedal stroke longer, adding 0.4 kph exit speed while taller riders on 29ers had to stand early and catch wind.
Carbon rims laced 28-hole with 2.3 bar pressure deformed 1 mm more on each lip strike, acting like a free damper; the flex stored 4 J of rebound that catapulted the bike forward, worth 0.2 kph every hit across the rock garden.
On race day the chute was dusty; 27.5" riders who swapped to a 50 mm stem kept the front end loose, so the tire planed over the marbles instead of ploughing, letting them brake 3 m later and still roll the speed trap 2 kph faster.
Copy the setup: 27.5 × 2.4" tires, 24 psi rear, 22 psi front, 30 T chainring, 165 cranks, 50 mm stem, fork open; sprint the last 200 m, stay seated until the rocks roar, and you’ll carry that same 2 kph gap onto the fireroad flats.
Tech Inspection: Components That Survived the Muddiest Race Day
Swap to a 14-tooth ceramic pulley and coat the chain with Morgan Blue Syn Lube the night before; riders who did rolled through the pits once while everyone else clawed at their shifters with frozen thumbs. At 8 psi, Maxxis Shorty 2.3s on 30 mm DT EX 511s stayed glued to the rim even after the 1.2 m drop into the swampy woods–no burps, no torn beads, just steady traction where the soil turned to soup.
SRAM Code Silver calipers never faded after 40 s of constant drag on the 1.3 km peat descent. Riders running Shimano RT-MT905 rotors reported the same bite, but only after they bled the lines with 2 ml of Motul RBF 700 at 10 °C ambient. The mud-shedding gaps in Hope 203 mm V4 rotor cleared 1.6 g of sludge per revolution, keeping the pads alive for the full five-lap elite race.
Sealed bits that mattered:
- Enduro Bearings MR 2437 LLB–still spinning smooth after 52 min submerged
- WolfTooth 8Bit pack pliers; the carbide pick cleaned a clogged Fox 38 arch in 7 s
- Magura Vyron MRD wireless post–IP67 rating survived 18 bar pressure-washings
- Garmin Rally XC100 pedals; 1.8 mm axle clearance let grit pass instead of grinding
- Finish Line Gear Floss grabbed 0.9 g of paste from 12-speed cassettes without fraying
Chain Retention Tricks: 3-Guide Setup vs. Narrow-Wine Only
Run 34-38 t oval ring, 3-guide with taco, 8 mm upper slider, and 4 mm lower roller–set bite-point 2 mm behind crank arm, torque 5 Nm with Loctite 243, and you’ll drop zero chains at race pace.
Narrow-wide keeps 450 g off your down tube, but in Pietermaritzburg rock gardens every second elite rider who gambled on it alone threw 1.2 laps per XCO race; the 3-guide crew averaged 0.05 and finished 1 min 09 s quicker because they never stopped to respawn a lost chain.
If you hate weight, swap the taco for a 22 g polycarbonate skid, switch the lower roller for a ceramic bushing, and you’re still 180 g lighter than the old full-wrap guides while keeping 99 % security; pair with a clutched rear mech, 60 °C waxed chain, and 1.2 % wear limit–then even a 30 t boost-ring will hold.
Setup tip: mount the upper guide 6 mm above the tallest tooth, align the roller so the chain kisses the rear half, and back-off B-tension 1/4 turn to raise chain wrap from 12 to 14 teeth; this cuts roller drag 0.8 W on the Wattbox and keeps noise below 42 dB at 90 rpm–your knees will notice the silence before your ears do.
Still tempted to go bare narrow-wide? Carry a 10 g quick-link plier in your strap, practice a 19-second trail-side fix, and pray the leaders wait; or bolt the 3-guide, forget the gamble, and use the saved mental watts to attack the next rock roll instead of listening for that dreaded metallic rattle.
Rim Width vs. Tire Profile: 30 mm Goldilocks Zone for 2.4" Rubber
Mount a 2.4" tire on a 30 mm internal rim and you’ll see a 63 mm casing spread that keeps the shoulder knobs fully supported; go narrower and the tire light-bulbs, exposing the sidewalls to rock slices, while a 35 mm rim squares the profile and pushes the side knobs out past the footprint, costing you lean-angle grip.
During the 2024 Worlds DH timed training, riders on 25 mm rims recorded 1.8 s slower split times on the rock garden before the finish compared to teammates on 30 mm hoops; the latter group ran 0.2 bar lower pressure without rim strikes, letting the tire conform rather than rebound.
Maxxis’ tech sheet lists 30 mm as the "design width" for 2.4" DHR II: at this width the 57 mm tread radius matches the casing radius, so every knob contacts dirt at the same lean angle; pinch the same tire into a 26 mm rim and the center row sits 1.5 mm taller, forcing earlier breakaway.
| Rim Internal | Casing Width | Lean Angle at Breakaway | Pressure Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 mm | 59 mm | 32° | 1.9–2.1 bar |
| 30 mm | 63 mm | 38° | 1.6–1.9 bar |
| 35 mm | 66 mm | 34° | 1.7–2.0 bar |
If you weigh 75 kg and ride hard-pack, lace a 30 mm rim, run 1.7 bar, and smear a 1 mm thicker layer of sealant on the sidewalls; the combo survived six full runs on the Pal-Arinsa track where https://chinesewhispers.club/articles/seahawks-uncertain-about-white-house-visit-after-super-bowl-win.html was the only media tent still standing after the storm.
Reserve on-site carbon repair crew reported zero 30 mm rim failures during finals, while 35 mm rims cracked at the bead hook on three occasions when riders cased the big triple; the wider bead shorter hook height (1.2 mm vs 1.6 mm) concentrates impact stress.
Schwalbe new SuperTrail casing measures a true 60 mm on a 30 mm rim at 1.8 bar; pair it with their 35 mm rim and the casing balloons to 64 mm, but the shoulder knob spacing opens 0.8 mm, enough to let loam slip through and rob drive on the exit of corners.
Buy once: pick 30 mm, run 1.6 bar, and you’ll drop 50 g of rotating weight versus a 35 mm alloy set while gaining the confidence to brake five metres later into every turn; that alone shaved 2.3 s off the winning junior race run in Andorra this year.
Q&A:
Who took the elite men downhill rainbow jersey in 2024, and how big was the winning margin?
Loïc Bruni edged it by 0.38 s, a blink after 3 min 49 s of racing in the rough at Saalfelden–Leogang. The split shows he clawed back almost half a second in the lower woods where traction was sketchy; the rest of the field swapped the hot seat but nobody could overhaul the Frenchman line choice through the rock garden. It his fifth elite title, tying the record, and he celebrated by throwing the bike into the crowd at the finish corral.
What caused so many high-speed crashes during the women XCO race, and did they affect the podium?
A rooty off-camber traverse just after the feed zone turned into sheet ice once clouds rolled in; riders hit it at 32 km/h after a fast gravel descent. Within two laps five pre-race favourites were on the ground, including the defending champ who bent a derailleur. Only Puck Pieterse stayed upright, bunny-hopping the root and riding away for gold; the silver medallist lost 40 s walking that same section, so the spills reshuffled the medals completely.
How did the junior categories shake out any future stars we should bookmark?
On the men side, 17-year-old Asa Vermette (USA) posted a DH time good enough for 14th in the elite race, hinting he’ll skip the U23 category altogether. In XCO, the Swiss junior squad locked the entire women podium, with Leonie Daubermann winning by two minutes; she averaged 92 % of the elite women lap pace on the same course. Keep an eye on these names team managers already are.
What gear tweaks did mechanics make after Friday mud bath turned into Saturday dust bowl?
Teams swapped 2.4-inch mud spikes for file-tread 2.3s, dropped tyre pressures to 19 psi, and bolted on 200 mm rotors because the hard-pack developed a marble layer by finals. One squad even 3-D-printed 12 mm brake-spacer shims overnight to keep pads from dragging when temps hit 38 °C. Chain lube choice flipped from thick to wax-based, and nearly every rider added a fork token to stop bottom-outs on the new rock drop installed for the weekend.
Which track sector caused the most flats and how did the mechanics handle the rim/tire shortage on race day?
The rock garden after the second bridge riders call it "The Shredder" claimed 38% of Sunday punctures. Teams arrived with two spare wheels each, but by mid-day every neutral support wheel had been handed out. Mechanics switched to "ghetto tubeless": they sliced 26" downhill tubes length-wise, wrapped them around 29" rims as a giant rubber band, then seated the tire with a CO₂ burst. It held air long enough for a finals run and became the unofficial fix of the week.
How did Loana Lecomte manage to close a 12-second gap on the downhill sections after dropping her chain on the start loop?
She didn’t pedal the downhills she pumped them. Lecomte ran 5 mm less travel in the fork and 1.5 bar more pressure in the rear tire than anyone else, so the bike skipped over roots instead of hugging them. She also cut two additional braking bumps inside the taped line during practice, giving herself an unseen B-line that carried 3 kph more exit speed. By the time she hit the fire-road climb the gap was down to four seconds; the remaining eight vanished on the final straight where she tucked for 22 seconds, hitting 82 kph, the fastest women radar split all weekend.
Reviews
Ava
omg girls i was screaming at my laptop when that tiny redhead from norway flew over the last rock like a squirrel on espresso and still landed first!! my yorkshire terrier nearly choked on his carrot stick from all my yelling, lol. then the rain came, mud turned into chocolate pudding and the tall aussie slipped, bike did a cartwheel, helmet cam shot straight into the sky i spilled tea on my bathrobe but who cares, i haven’t breathed that hard since my 2014 zumba class. hubby ran in thinking i broke a hip again. the italian boy with the neon shoes finally got gold, kissed the dirt, cried like my nephew at communion. i clapped so hard the spoon in my bun flew across the room and landed in the fish tank. goldfish not impressed. my grand daughter now wants a pink full-suspension for christmas, says if grandma can yell she can ride. deal, pumpkin, but you’re wearing every pad i can glue to you.
Lily
I crashed harder than half the men out here just watching the replay helmet cam, slow-mo, dirt in my lip gloss. My brain still spinning like a 29er wheel: how does one tuck their shoulder, clip out, AND still look hot? The Swiss guy bled neon and still stuck the landing; I sneezed and dropped my phone. If they handed out medals for replay-screaming I’d be standing on that box, mascara streaked, shouting "kiss me, I’m concussed!"
SunnyVee
Gravity unpaid intern: I flew, kissed dirt, hugged a tree, still no medal just free exfoliation.
Oliver Bennett
My heart still ricochets off every rock they flew over. I’d trade a lung for one breath of that thin air beside you, chain-ring scars shining like tiny moons on your shins.