Raw Practice Highlights From the Leogang World Cup Downhill

The third UCI World Cup Downhill round is happening this weekend in Leogang Austria.

Watch the raw highlights from Friday’s practice below.

Leogang has been experiencing variable weather conditions. On Friday the course was slick from overnight rains but began to dry out. One of the organizers said that the faster bike park sections were running quite well, but the off-camber raw sections were going to be tough.

In the off-camber sections, riders can gain time by taking the riskier high lines rather than the safer low lines. At minute 3:02, you can see Loic Bruni absolutely reel in the rider in front of him by lacing the high line.

Leogang lost its reputation as an easy “bike park” track when the organizers built a new course for the 2020 World Championships. The new course features some properly gnarly sections including the infamous woods. Even a little moisture in the steeps leads to multi-rider pileups and riders going off course.

There is a chance of rain in the forecast, so the course could be wet heading into the weekend.

Racers will face some interesting gear decisions due to the uncertain weather and the muddy woods. Though mud tires could help riders grip to navigate the woods, they are significantly slower on the motorway sections. Racers will have to decide based on the trade-offs what equipment to use on race day.

Qualifying and semi-finals will be raced on Saturday and finals will be broadcast live on Sunday.