Hello,

This week the 2024 downhill (DH) and enduro (EDR) World Cup seasons reboot in Loudenvielle, France, after a lengthy summer break.

It’s round six for both DH and EDR, and in fact the final race in the EDR season before the first-ever Enduro World Championships next week (in Val di Fassa, Italy). Meanwhile, for the downhillers it’s the penultimate round, with finals in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, in a few weeks.

We’ve compiled some Loudenvielle pre-race notes, with photos by Boris and Sven, below.

Hope you enjoy looking through.

Cheers,

James
+the Misspent Summers team

PRODUCT: CHOOSE MTB PRINT

SOAKING: rain-doused notes from Loudenvielle, France, DH and EDR World Cup R6 2024
First, some essentials:

• Race book
• Schedule
• Live timing
• Enduro and e-enduro start lists
• Enduro racing is today, Friday 6 Sep. Racers are already out on the hill. Follow the live timing here and scroll down for more information
• Downhill racing is on Sunday 8 Sep. Practice starts today, with elite and junior qualifying and elite semi-finals on Saturday (juniors don’t race semi-finals). Racing starts at 11:30 local time on Sunday with the junior categories; elites start at 13:15
• Recap the last round of EDR racing from Aletsch, Switzerland, here
• Recap the last round of DH racing from Les Gets, France, here
• Fantasy: Race Companion fantasy league here
• Stuff you should watch: Loudenvielle video selection
• Word: splosh
• No entry: who’s missing from the pro pit area and why?
• Vibe: despite massive downpours all week, riders are upbeat and excited to race the DH and EDR tracks here
• Where to watch: EDR build-up and highlights videos on the MTB World Series YouTube channel free-to-view here. Junior DH finals live streamed free-to-view on the MTBWS live channel here. Elite DH on Discovery+, Max and various other channels (latest explainer from Warner Bros Disco here)
• Note: some streaming services have been removed and incorporated into Discovery+ and Max this summer. Eurosport Premium has been culled (read about it here), so make sure your sub is up to date before racing starts to avoid a last-minute panic-stress-swear fest
• Reading material: read Screen Time, an extract from The World Stage about a race day in the life of a mechanic, here

Continued below…

Next, some enduro notes:

• 2023 EDR results from Loudenvielle
• Track record: for an entertaining look at the course (well, some of it), take a look back at our Squids on Tour EWS 2022 video
• Course preview: watch the official preview in our videos post
• Course and terrain: the full EDR course has five stages, as practiced on Thursday (caveat incoming), most of which have been races in the previous EWS/EDR events here. Stage four has a new lower section that, like the rest of the stages, riders seem to really enjoy
• Caveat: however, this week’s brutal weather continues to bite, and strong wind has forced the cancellation of stage three as the chairlift that accesses it can’t run. Apart from that, start times remain as scheduled
• Original course stats (as practiced): 40km riding, 1,460m on-bike climbing (riders also use a shuttle and some lifts during the day), 3,410m descending. But with stage three cancelled, there’s about 630m less descending and a few kilometres less riding now
• FootTech: pouring rain in the run-up has soaked the tracks, making the numerous flat turns, cambers and chutes semi-treacherous (but probably better than intermediate conditions, when it can be really slippery here). In 2022, when the going got slick, Alex Rudeau and Morgane Charre won, both riding flat pedals as they always do. This time around, Martin Maes has opted for flats too – the first time in over a decade that the Belgian has unclipped. Flats FTW?
• Weather check: after heavy (like, torrential) rain overnight and in the morning, things are brightening up for race day
• Not-stat stat: 80% of top enduro racers rate their 2024 season 8/10
• Rebound setting: is enduro bouncing back with less travel and no assistance in 2025?
• Recap: it’s been a while since the last round in Aletsch, so here’s a reminder where we’re at. Isabeau Courdurier and Richie Rude lead the elite women’s and men’s series standings with healthy points advantages, but it isn’t all over yet. Check the standings before Loudenvielle here
• Points-prizes: with points awarded for the four stage results and (mainly) the overall position at the end of the race, there are 480 maximum points available at this race (read about the points structure and try our points calculator here). Courdurier leads the series by just 63 points over Harriet Harnden; Rude leads by a healthier but not insurmountable 342 points over Sławomir Łukasik. It’s all still to play for
• Berlin got Blurry: there are at least two new piercings in the top five after the summer break
• Missing: unfortunately, round five winner Jack Moir is out of action with a collarbone injury and Rhys Verner is out with some cracked ribs. Get well soon. Meanwile, Zakarias Johansen and the Cube team are missing the race due to a vehicle breakdown en-route
• Allez: good luck to Misspent Summers supported rider (or is it the other way around?) Morgane Charre out there today

More below…

Now for a little downhill warm up:

• 2023 DH results from Loudenvielle
• Long ‘Views Loudenvielle 2023 interviews
• Refresher: it’s been a while since the last DH World Cup, so here’s a reminder that Loic Bruni and Vali Höll lead the elite season rankings by more than 200 points each, chased by Amaury Pierron and Tahnée Seagrave. Check the series standings here
• Structured: there are 400 total points available at each DH World Cup – 50 if you win qualifying, 100 for winning semi-finals, and 250 for winning finals. With two rounds remaining (this one and Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, in early October), the series is still wide open. However, Bruni and Höll showed they are both still on top form with their performances last week at World Champs. If they can keep it upright, it’d be hard to bet against them for the overall titles. But this is downhill and anything can happen
• Weather check: there’s a chance of rain on race day (Sunday) afternoon, but everyone’s got their fingers crossed so that’s OK then
• Off-bike: ski poles, sunnies, loose ankles
• On-bike: flames, clingfilm, turnips
• Terrain: after hosting several enduro races, downhill debuted in Loudenvielle in 2023 with a fresh course built by our pal Romain Paulhan. Fast up top then plunging into steep woods lower down, racers generally loved the track, its technical nature and line choices
• Giraffes on roller-skates: however, last year’s grimy conditions turned parts of the track into a vertical ice rink, leading to the canning of the junior race, the first-ever World Cup cancellation. Hopefully history doesn’t repeat
• Slippery info: total tangent, but what’s this we hear about a hard new line down a hill near Morzine?
• Recalculated: 10 + 1 = 2025
• Meanwhile in Italy: we were riding in La Thuile recently and noticed a brand-new World Cup-looking track not hiding in plain sight right under the main lift. Massive berms, senders to loam and a steeeep hillside could make for an all-time classic course. Enduro has been to La Thuile before, so might we see a DH-EDR double header there next year?
• So supercross: number choices, last-chance qualifiers and wild cards
• Bet you watch this: unrelated to MTB (as far as we’re aware), but there’s probably a conspiracy theory someone could develop after watching this video
• Go get it: good luck to Propain Positive and Billy Pugh, talented riders we claim to support but who help us out a lot more. We’re very lucky. Thanks everyone. And thank you for reading! Don’t forget to check out our store