Downhill World Cup

Favorite stop should be a party for Höll and Kolb

Andreas Kolb jumped to his first World Cup victory last year.

(Bild: moritz-ablinger.com)

Things get serious for the mountain bikers on Saturday and Sunday with the downhill competition. Austrians Vali Höll and Andi Kolb want to repeat their victory from last year in Leogang. The local heroine also spoke to the "Krone" about the special nature of a home World Cup and Kolb talked about when he came home from celebrating last year.

Last year was a huge party. This atmosphere is set to return at this year's Mountain Bike World Cup in Leogang when the Downhill aces cross the finish line. In 2023, local riders Vali Höll and Andi Kolb turned the finish area into a madhouse. It was the Schladminger's only World Cup victory to date. The celebrations afterwards were correspondingly intense: "It was a dream come true for me. I walked home from leaving when it was already getting light." Although Val di Sole is Kolb's favorite course, "Leogang is always the coolest stop for me."

Two weeks of rest
Which also applies to his female counterpart Vali Höll. Last year, she finally broke the "curse" and took victory on her home track. "Everyone realized that Leogang was always such an unpopular race for me. It never worked out that way. Last year it finally did. I was like a machine the whole weekend," the 22-year-old looks back.

Whether it will be the same this year is unclear. The local hero injured herself at the last World Cup in Poland and subsequently had problems with her optic nerve and neck. "I've done relatively little over the last two weeks. I don't think that was too bad." The two-time world champion really likes the track this year. "It's relatively exciting because it's more technical. I'm happy about that."

What's so special about a home World Cup? "You're on all the banners, you know all the lift staff - they know everything about you. You can tell that everyone is excited."

Starting as the favorite
"The best thing was to see how happy my family and friends were for me. That's when you realize what an impact you have as an athlete. You see how happy the people around you are, that was the best moment for me." The two-time overall World Cup winner would like to experience that again this year. As the leader (ten points ahead of Tahnee Seagrave), she is the favorite at home. Her form will be shown in the qualification (12) and the semi-final on Saturday. The grand final will take place on Sunday (14.15). Remaining tickets are still available for last-minute bookers.