Finn Illes and Vali Hoell win Mont Sainte-Anne World Cup

Words and photos: Matt Rousu

It was another hot and humid day here in Mont Sainte Anne for the first really big day of the week, spectators showed up in droves and lined the course from top to bottom during the day before filling up the finish line area to watch Finn Illes take his first ever World Cup win. My fellow photographers on course agreed that it was the biggest crowd they'd ever seen at MSA, after a 3 year break between events and with multiple local Canadian podium potentials this year I can understand the excitement behind this event.

Luckily for me the access on the DH course for media is top notch and I had a super enjoyable day on track, even getting into the finish corral to witness Finn take the win was smooth. It was by far one of the most popular wins I have ever witnessed, everyone was absolutely stoked for Finn. The crowd was a constant deafening roar for over an hour after the race, chants of 'Oooleee, ole, ole, ole', chainsaws never silenced, giant horns and shimano bells creating a cacophony of celebration. It was a joy to witness and a hustle to try and capture the emotion of the win.

Apart from Illes, Troy Brosnan is officially back in the game with 3rd place and with Les Gets Worlds coming up he's going to be chasing rainbows again this year. Laurie Greenland looked like he was kind of struggling all week with crashes but he put on a display today, narrowly missing the win, a super impressive ride.

Aaron Gwin and Bernard Kerr continued their streak of form also grabbing spots on the podium. It was then a slew of best performances for many riders, with mechanicals and crashes galore effecting some of the top contenders, would you believe the highest place Frenchman was 9th! Kye A'hern had his best ever elite performance placing 12th place, he was over the moon with the result. Luke Meier-Smith rolled into another top 20 result and Dean Lucas matched his number plate with a respectable 39th after a heavy crash yesterday.

Valentina Holl kept to the form guide and took the win in front of a delighted Nina Hoffman, Elenora Farina, Jess Blewitt and Monika Hrastnik. As expected Myriam Nicole was almost dead even with Holls time at the 3rd split before a puncture ruined her chances, she would later say "C'est la vie, it's just a part of the game". The battle for the overall is getting bonkers close now, the injured Camile Balanche still holds the lead but will she be able to race in Val Di Sole in just over a months time… Cassie Voysey raced her first ever Elite World Cup final today as well, she raced to an awesome 14th place!

The Junior categories had some interesting results as well, eventual mens winner Jackson Goldstone and 2nd place Jordan Williams would have podiumed in the Elite mens category with their times.

Was the track running better in the morning? Did the afternoon heat make a difference? Or have these two teenagers pushed each-other hard all season to just be ridiculously fast? I'm thinking all 3… Our Aussie juniors didn't fare so well today; Ollie Davis pretty much blew up his wheel about half way down, After a heavy crash yesterday Remy Meier-Smith still raced today and placed a respectable 14th. Mario Baldwin's first World Cup finals run didn't go to plan either, a flat tyre and an up close experience with a tree wasn't what he was chasing today, he was incredibly stoked to make it into the big show though, 20th place.

Phoebe Gales winning time would have also placed her 4th in Elite womens today, another one to watch for the future! Our Aussie girls also raced well today, Elise Empey with her best ever result slid into 6th place and Connor Mielke not to far back in 8th place. Both will be representing Australia at the upcoming World Champs in Les Gets, France.