The summer is headed towards its end and so is the iXS European Downhill Cup 2014. Next weekend, the European Cup celebrates its final round in Leogang. More than 300 riders from 23 nations will fight once more for some last points for the overall standings and the title of the season.
With Leogang a high-class venue has been chosen for the final round of the cup. It is one of the world’s most popular venues for downhill events, not only for European athletes, but since 2012 also for the international downhill elite. With 2300 meters in length and a difference in altitude of 480 meters the “Speedster” track has a lot of fun on offer – for both athletes and spectators.
This weekend’s winner earns 220 points for seeding and race run for the overall standings, which means that there’s still enough room for some changes. In addition, 2 results will be deleted in order to guarantee fair competition.
At this point, the Elite Men category is dominated by David Trummer (AUT – RRP Ghost) with a total of 614 points, followed by Manuel Gruber (AUT – Radon Factory DH) with 599 points. However, due to an injury Gruber will not attend the race in Leogang and leaves Trummer as the odds-on favorite. The only rider who might still have the chance to reach Trummer’s result is Sławomir Łukasik (POL – NSbikes FroPro). Benny Strasser (GER – SOLID BIKES – Bikeunit) currently holds the fourth place, but also will not take part in the final round in Leogang.
By the way, in last year’s EDC Loic Bruni (FRA – Lapierre Gravity Republic) succeeded with a best time of 3:16.01 minutes, while Josh Bryceland won this year’s World Cup on the same track.
In the Elite Women category there are still 70 points to gain in this last round of the European Cup and it could still get very interesting among the Top 3. Zarja Cernilogar (SLO – Blackthorn GT) is only seven points behind the current leader of the rankings Jana Bartova (CZE – Bikeplac Racing). With a 48-point gap and a total of 157 points Tahnée Seagrave currently holds the third place, followed by Alia Marcellini (ITA – LeeCougan Dirty Factory Team). This weekend, however, Marcellini might have a last shot at the podium, since Seagrave is not among Leogang’s starters. For more information, visit www.ixsdownhillcup.com
