This past weekend the iXS European Downhill Cup hosted its second round in Willingen. About 300 riders from 26 different countries made their way to Germany for the occasion, crowning Jure Zabjek and Monika Hrastnik as fastest riders of the weekend.
For the second time the EDC has been a part of the annual BIKE Festival in Willingen – and it was a weekend full of fun and mountain bike action! In addition to the high class downhill race, Willingen invited hundreds of riders and visitors to a broad range of events, including the German Enduro Championships, a marathon with more than 1800 participants and the Pump Battle Series. And in between the different races there was enough time for the 35,000 visitors to take a stroll and explore the huge expo area with more than 150 different brands and their stands. Nevertheless, the EDC was definitely the number one highlight this weekend.
Jure Zabjek
On Friday the race officially started with its first training session. The track’s mid-section had been modified in advance and some smoother lines were added in order to break the rather harsh bike park pattern. Unfortunately, the weather hardly could have been worse on Friday. With steady rainfall all day long, the track and especially the newer and modified sections turned into one muddy mess.
Seeding Run
Fortunately, the weather was better – or at least dryer – just in time for Saturday’s seeding run. Monika Hrastnik (SLO – Blackthorn) dominated her category with only 2.39,733 minutes and a 5.4-second gap towards her strongest competitor Filipa Peres (POR – MS Racing Portugal). Simone Wechselberger (AUT – MS-Mondraker B-Team) finished in third place.
Ondrej Stepanek
In the Elite Men category, the seeding run always serves as the ticket to the Super Final for the top 30 riders. This weekend, we had a small deja-vu when Jure Zabjek (SLO – Unior Tools Team) again delivered the best time of 2.18,324 minutes after his victory last week in Kranjska Gora. Ondrej Stepanek (CZE – CTM Racing Team) followed suit with only split seconds towards the best time, while Matthew Walker (NZL – Cube Global Squad) finished in third place.
Finals
Compared to Friday’s weather and overall conditions, Sunday’s weather was a dream come true: sunshine, a dry track and the warm temperatures lured numerous fans to the bike park, setting the stage for an incredible atmosphere and an exciting race!
Valentina Höll
After a last training session in the morning the Pro Masters opened the race and their fast results already hinted at the track’s perfect overall shape. Willi Lützeler (GER – Cube) set the best time in his category with 2.21,602 minutes, which was seven whole seconds faster than his result in the seeding. Robin Mölders (GER – Bikemeister.de) and Frank Hedwig (GER – RAD-ART) completed the podium.
In the U17 category, Valentina Höll (AUT – Sram TLD Racing) again demonstrated her ever-growing skill level, setting a best time of 2.32,096 which made her the fastest woman of the day. Among the male U17 riders Janosch Klaus (SUI – Team Project) set the best time, followed by Leo Forrer (SUI) and Robert Johanson (EST – Fun Times Crew).
Monika Hrastnik
In the Elite Women category Monika Hrastnik stood as firm as a rock and took the title with her time of 2.32,861 seconds. The 19-year old Sara Böhm (GER – Team Cube) followed in second place as the fastest German female rider, while Filipa Peres finally made it to the podium in third place after a rather disappointing 15th place in Kranjska Gora.
Petr Folvarcný
Petr Folvarcný (CZE – Kellys Factory Team) dominated the U19 category which brought him the first EDC podium in his career. Simon Maurer (GER – Sram Young Guns) and Mika Hopp (GER – GZ Racing) followed in second and third place.
Elite men podium
The Elite Male Super Final was opened by Johann Potgieter (RSA – Team Racing Dudes). While he took some time to relax in the Red Bull Hot Seat he watched one competitor after the other failing to reach his time of 2.17,839 min. However, this abruptly ended and after that the lead kept changing constantly. Basil Weber (SUI – Team Project) crossed the finish line with a promising 2.15,013 minutes on the clock, but Rastislav Baranek (SVK – Kellys Factory Team) finished even faster and after that, all eyes were on the last 5 riders up the hill. While Miran Vauh (SLO – Blackthorn) did not reach this time, Stanislav Sehnal (CZE – Banshee Bikes) took the lead by split seconds only. However, Matthew Walker was even faster, while Ondrej Stepanek (CZE – CTM Racing Team) crossed the finish line with 4 seconds more on the clock. Now there was only one rider left to change the result: winner of the EDC #1 in Kranjska Gora Jure Zabjek. When he finally crossed the finish line he did so with a 0.6-second gap, setting the new best time of 2.12,617 minutes and collecting the full points for his ranking – again!
All in all, the BIKE Festival in Willingen is always worth a trip and offers the perfect platform and scenery for the iXS European Downhill Cup. The next stop of the series will take us all to Schladming and we can’t wait to find out if Jure Zabjek will make it a triple. But one thing we know for sure: the competition won’t make it easy!
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Official website: ixsdownhillcup.com