FINAL RESULTS: Lourdes World Cup Downhill 6

​The first race of the 2016 UCI World Cup Mountain Bike downhill season has come to a dramatic close in Lourdes, France. There was no shortage of drama on the incredibly steep and demanding DH course in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Sunny race day conditions helped dry out the course from rains earlier in the week which meant race runs were considerably faster than yesterday's qualifying efforts. Thousands of fans lined the course and the atmosphere in the second-most-visited city in France was buzzing as the world's best downhill mountain bikers tried to be the fastest on the 1.2-mile course.

Finn Iles took the win in the Junior Men's category with Matt Walker and Nikolas Nesteroff rounding out the Top 3. Fastest qualifier, Kevin Marry, was fastest through the first two split times but was scored a DNF. Stay tuned for updates on Kevin's run.

Rachel Atherton was the fastest woman today in Lourdes earning her 27th World Cup downhill win. Despite a lackluster qualifying result, Rachel dominated the Elite Women's class with fastest split times and a 4.4-second victory over Tahnee Seagrave. Rachel's race time was 20 seconds faster than the winning qualifying time. It was an all-Brit Top 3 in Elite Women as Manon Carpenter placed 3rd, some 10 seconds off the winning pace.

Aaron Gwin claimed the first win of the season in the Elite Men's class today. Gwin was the first rider of the webcast to really turn up the amperage and ride completely loose and ragged by smoothing out some rowdy inside lines that most riders avoided. He took the hot seat from Danny Hart with a 3:09, some 9 seconds quicker than Saturday's fastest qualifying time from Loic Bruni. Gwin's 10th place qualifying result meant that his finals time was in the cross hairs of the last 9 riders. No one could beat Gwin's time. Loic Bruni was on track through the last split to take the win until he washed out in a corner, breaking the hearts of fellow countrymen and fans. Loic went on to finish 14th.

"He [Loic] definitely had me beat," said Gwin in his post-race interview. Aaron's performance squelches any notions about how well he is adjusting to his brand new race program. Despite a successful 2015 season with Specialized, Aaron and Specialized parted ways. Gwin partnered with Martin Whiteley to form the YT Mob team in 2016. The YT Mob is a team built from the ground up by Aaron, himself. See Vital's JRA Interview with Aaron discussing his team changes.

Stevie Smith is back to form after injury-filled seasons with a stellar 2nd place and Danny Hart grabs attention once again with 3rd. Troy Brosnan was visibly disappointed with his time at the line but still earned 4th place. Amaury Pierron had a standout performance as his smooth, fluid run held off some of the seasoned Top 20 riders. Pierron 5th today, his first World Cup podium, besting his 17th result in Lourdes in 2015.

Thanks to Red Bull for a fantastic live webcast! Stay tuned for the race day slideshow on Vital this evening.

Elite Men's Results

1. GWIN Aaron - THE YT MOB - USA: 3:09.131, +0.000

2. SMITH Steve - DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING - CAN: 3:11.602, +2.471

3. HART Danny - MS MONDRAKER TEAM - GBR: 3:11.817, +2.686

4. BROSNAN Troy - SPECIALIZED RACING - AUS: 3:13.281, +4.150

5. PIERRON Amaury - LAC BLANC COMMENCAL - FRA: 3:13.440, +4.309

6. BRYCELAND Josh - SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE - GBR: 3:13.636, +4.505

7. ATHERTON Gee - TREK FACTORY RACING DH - GBR: 3:14.415, +5.284

8. WALLACE Mark - DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING - CAN: 3:14.554, +5.423

9. FEARON Connor - KONA FACTORY TEAM DH - AUS: 3:15.048, +5.917

10. FAIRCLOUGH Brendan - GSTAAD-SCOTT - GBR: 3:15.219, +6.088

11. KERR Bernard - PIVOT FACTORY RACING - GBR: 3:15.249, +6.118

12. PAYET Florent - VOULVOUL RACING - FRA: 3:15.951, +6.820

13. VERGIER Loris - SPECIALIZED GRAVITY POWERED BY SRAM - FRA: 3:16.045, +6.914

14. BRUNI Loic - SPECIALIZED GRAVITY POWERED BY SRAM - FRA: 3:16.460, +7.329

15. MINNAAR Greg - SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE - RSA: 3:16.651, +7.520

16. MASTERS Edward - BERGAMONT HAYES FACTORY TEAM - NZL: 3:17.108, +7.977

17. GUTIERREZ VILLEGAS Marcelo - GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM - COL: 3:17.268, +8.137

18. JONES Michael - CHAIN REACTION CYCLES / PAYPAL - GBR: 3:17.460, +8.329

19. CUNNINGHAM Ruaridh - UNIOR TOOLS TEAM - GBR: 3:17.487, +8.356

20. COULANGES Benoit - DORVAL AM NICOLAI - FRA: 3:17.927, +8.796

21. SHAW Luca - SRAM/TLD RACING - USA: 3:18.493, +9.362

22. WILLIAMSON Greg - CUBE GLOBAL SQUAD PROTECTED BY BLISS - GBR: 3:18.924, +9.793

23. GREENLAND Laurie - MS MONDRAKER TEAM - GBR: 3:20.220, +11.089

24. CHAPMAN Rupert - BERGAMONT HAYES FACTORY TEAM - NZL: 3:20.563, +11.432

25. HEATH Harry - NORCO FACTORY RACING - GBR: 3:20.946, +11.815

26. SIMMONDS Matthew - MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM - GBR: 3:21.476, +12.345

27. BRAYTON Adam - - GBR: 3:21.974, +12.843

28. CAUVIN Guillaume - GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM - FRA: 3:22.089, +12.958

29. HILL Samuel - CHAIN REACTION CYCLES / PAYPAL - AUS: 3:22.109, +12.978

30. CABIROU Rudy - VOULVOUL RACING - FRA: 3:22.381, +13.250

31. NEETHLING Andrew - POLYGON UR - RSA: 3:22.838, +13.707

32. VERNON Taylor - TREK FACTORY RACING DH - GBR: 3:22.952, +13.821

33. GRAHAM Innes - PROPAIN DIRT ZELVY - GBR: 3:23.106, +13.975

34. PEKOLL Markus - MS MONDRAKER TEAM - AUT: 3:23.364, +14.233

35. BLENKINSOP Samuel - NORCO FACTORY RACING - NZL: 3:23.444, +14.313

36. MARIN TRILLO Alex - GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM - ESP: 3:23.914, +14.783

37. MACDONALD Brook - GT FACTORY RACING - NZL: 3:24.414, +15.283

38. SMITH Joseph - CHAIN REACTION CYCLES / PAYPAL - GBR: 3:24.524, +15.393

39. ATWILL Philip - PROPAIN DIRT ZELVY - GBR: 3:24.554, +15.423

40. PANDUR Ziga - UNIOR TOOLS TEAM - SLO: 3:24.815, +15.684

41. LEVESQUE Dylan - - FRA: 3:24.919, +15.788

42. PEAT Steve - SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE - GBR: 3:25.239, +16.108

43. ESTAQUE Thomas - LAC BLANC COMMENCAL - FRA: 3:25.765, +16.634

44. THIRION Remi - COMMENCAL / VALLNORD - FRA: 3:25.908, +16.777

45. MULALLY Neko - GSTAAD-SCOTT - USA: 3:25.917, +16.786

46. FISCHBACH Johannes - RADON MAGURA FACTORY - GER: 3:26.811, +17.680

47. POMBO Emanuel - - POR: 3:27.037, +17.906

48. COMETTI Luca - INTENSE FACTORY RACING - USA: 3:27.747, +18.616

49. DICKSON Jacob - - IRL: 3:27.839, +18.708

50. BEER Nick - RADON MAGURA FACTORY - SUI: 3:27.860, +18.729

51. HANNAH Michael - POLYGON UR - AUS: 3:27.954, +18.823

52. PONS Melvin - US CAGNES VTT - FRA: 3:27.989, +18.858

53. PIERRON Baptiste - VOULVOUL RACING - FRA: 3:28.035, +18.904

54. GRUBER Manuel - RRP - AUT: 3:28.329, +19.198

55. PAULHAN Romain - LES GETS-INTENSE TEAM - FRA: 3:28.921, +19.790

56. LALY Thibault - ADH BANSHEE TEAM - FRA: 3:29.738, +20.607

57. TRUMMER David - RRP - AUT: 3:30.351, +21.220

58. PAZDZIORKO Gregoire - - BEL: 3:30.938, +21.807

59. LARBEYOU Guillaume - TEAM FOCUS AVEYRON - FRA: 3:31.513, +22.382

60. HARNSTROM Oscar - EXCEPTIO SPORT COMMENCAL - SWE: 3:32.305, +23.174

61. GANNICOTT George - ONE VISION GLOBAL RACING - GBR: 3:33.324, +24.193

62. GEORGES Pierre Charles - LAC BLANC COMMENCAL - FRA: 3:33.851, +24.720

63. CHAPUIS Maxime - - SUI: 3:34.148, +25.017

64. GALLAGHER Kenta - - GBR: 3:34.471, +25.340

65. EVANS Craig - - GBR: 3:35.276, +26.145

66. MCGLONE Fraser - NORCO FACTORY RACING - GBR: 3:35.345, +26.214

67. VERNASSA Gianluca - AB DEVINCI ITALY - ITA: 3:37.182, +28.051

68. READING Jack - ONE VISION GLOBAL RACING - GBR: 3:38.227, +29.096

69. FIGARET Faustin - RADON MAGURA FACTORY - FRA: 3:39.043, +29.912

70. GRANDY Silas - - GER: 3:39.340, +30.209

71. LUKASIK Slawomir - - POL: 3:39.644, +30.513

72. MASTERS Wyn - GT FACTORY RACING - NZL: 3:40.119, +30.988

73. CARBALLO GONZALEZ Edgar - - ESP: 3:40.158, +31.027

74. NIEDERBERGER Noel - SWISS DOWNHILL SYNDICATE - SUI: 3:41.099, +31.968

75. REVELLI Loris - AB DEVINCI ITALY - ITA: 3:42.699, +33.568

76. CONNELL Joseph - SOLID REVERSE FACTORY RACING - GBR: 3:42.881, +33.750

77. STEPANEK Ondrej - - CZE: 3:44.870, +35.739

78. GUTIERREZ Rafael - - COL: 4:04.265, +55.134

79. RUFFIN Thibaut - COMMENCAL / VALLNORD - FRA: 4:04.788, +55.657

80. LUCAS Dean - INTENSE FACTORY RACING - AUS: 4:18.332, +1:09.201

81. FAYOLLE Alexandre - POLYGON UR - FRA: 4:18.716, +1:09.585

DALE Sam - GT FACTORY RACING - GBR: DNS

Elite Women's Results

1. ATHERTON Rachel - TREK FACTORY RACING DH - GBR: 3:50.383, +0.000

2. SEAGRAVE Tahnee - TRANSITION FACTORY RACING / FMD - GBR: 3:54.855, +4.472

3. CARPENTER Manon - MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM - GBR: 4:00.641, +10.258

4. HANNAH Tracey - POLYGON UR - AUS: 4:03.974, +13.591

5. SIEGENTHALER Emilie - PIVOT FACTORY RACING - SUI: 4:12.191, +21.808

6. CHARRE Morgane - BERGAMONT HAYES FACTORY TEAM - FRA: 4:26.968, +36.585

7. CABIROU Marine - VOULVOUL RACING - FRA: 4:33.779, +43.396

8. FARINA Eleonora - - ITA: 4:40.934, +50.551

9. CAPPELLARI Carina - RADON MAGURA FACTORY - SUI: 4:42.989, +52.606

10. MARCELLINI Alia - - ITA: 4:51.263, +1:00.880

11. CERNILOGAR Zarja - UNIOR TOOLS TEAM - SLO: 4:51.469, +1:01.086

12. SALAZAR PALOMO Mariana - DORVAL AM NICOLAI - ESA: 4:54.709, +1:04.326

13. WIDMANN Veronika - - ITA: 4:57.431, +1:07.048

14. BARTOVA Jana - RRP - CZE: 5:00.437, +1:10.054

15. CURD Katy - - GBR: 5:03.117, +1:12.734

16. LOHNER Laura - R-VTT MORILLON - FRA: 5:03.845, +1:13.462

17. JULIA BARTHE Blanca - - ESP: 5:07.534, +1:17.151

18. RABEDER Elke - - AUT: 5:09.286, +1:18.903

19. WUNDERLIN Alba - - SUI: 5:15.322, +1:24.939

20. CHAPPAZ Melanie - R-VTT MORILLON - FRA: 5:34.069, +1:43.686

21. LESOIN Flora - R-VTT MORILLON - FRA: 5:55.420, +2:05.037

22. STRIVENS Rona - - GBR: 6:20.303, +2:29.920

23. ARACIL ALBA Blanca - - AND: 6:32.548, +2:42.165

VERBEECK Vaea - - CAN: DNS

Junior Men's Results

Top 20 with Splits and Speeds

Full Junior Men's Results

1. ILES Finnley - SPECIALIZED GRAVITY POWERED BY SRAM - CAN: 3:32.269, +0.000

2. WALKER Matt - MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM - GBR: 3:33.828, +1.559

3. NESTOROFF Nikolas - INTENSE FACTORY RACING - USA: 3:35.449, +3.180

4. VIGE Gaetan - COMMENCAL / VALLNORD - FRA: 3:39.244, +6.975

5. FREW Jackson - GT FACTORY RACING - AUS: 3:39.713, +7.444

6. HEAP Elliott - CHAIN REACTION CYCLES / PAYPAL - GBR: 3:39.832, +7.563

7. HATTON Charlie - GREAT BRITAIN - GBR: 3:40.344, +8.075

8. CHATANAY Valentin - CLIC CHAMBERY SAVOIE - FRA: 3:41.674, +9.405

9. CEBALLOS Steven - COLOMBIA - COL: 3:41.682, +9.413

10. SEAGRAVE Kaos - TRANSITION FACTORY RACING / FMD - GBR: 3:43.026, +10.757

11. SMESTAD Simen - NORWAY - NOR: 3:43.841, +11.572

12. COUGOUREUX Sylvain - LES GETS-INTENSE TEAM - FRA: 3:44.509, +12.240

13. PAYET Jordan - FRANCE - FRA: 3:44.877, +12.608

14. ROJCEK Adam - SLOVAKIA - SVK: 3:45.745, +13.476

15. MORTON Remy - AUSTRALIA - AUS: 3:46.512, +14.243

16. PELTRAULT Txomin - FRANCE - FRA: 3:47.442, +15.173

17. VESTAVIK Brage - DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING - NOR: 3:49.587, +17.318

18. BREEDEN Joe - SOLID REVERSE FACTORY RACING - GBR: 3:53.170, +20.901

19. CROWLEY Jack - IRELAND - IRL: 3:53.443, +21.174

20. MANSON Magnus - CANADA - CAN: 3:54.151, +21.882

21. BARDOU Clement - FRANCE - B - FRA: 3:54.524, +22.255

22. LANGELAAN VON HEYDEN Carlos - SPAIN - ESP: 3:54.929, +22.660

23. MANAZZALE Mirko - ITALY - ITA: 3:55.437, +23.168

24. PIERRON Antoine - FRANCE - FRA: 3:57.419, +25.150

25. WATSON Corey - SOLID REVERSE FACTORY RACING - GBR: 4:03.005, +30.736

26. ZBIKOWSKI Jakub - POLAND - POL: 4:04.998, +32.729

27. JULIEN Calvin - FRANCE - FRA: 4:06.712, +34.443

28. JUSTINO Louis - US CAGNES VTT - FRA: 4:37.009, +1:04.740

MARRY Kevin - FRANCE - FRA: DNF

FITZGERALD Henry - STEVE PEAT SYNDICATE / UBERBIKE GLOBAL - CAN: DNF

See More Lourdes World Cup Coverage

Watch Finn Iles Rip and Whip at Coast Gravity Park

See Aaron Gwin's YT TUES downhill bike