Image: UCI Downhill World Cup. Finals Men Junior winner @ BIKE KINGDOM – LENZERHEIDE / Asa VERMETTE (FRAMEWORKS RACING / 5DEV)/ *©️ WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series / Bartek Wolinski*

Lenzerheide, Switzerland – September 20, 2025

The Swiss Alps roared again this weekend as Bike Kingdom Lenzerheide played host to the eighth UCI Downhill World Cup of the season. A high-speed mix of root webs, compressions, and wide-open straights rewarded precision and punished hesitation. With just two rounds remaining in the 2025 season, every split mattered. Highlights included comebacks from injury, races decided by fractions of a second, and a crash from Jackson Goldstone that could change the winner of the men’s overall title.

The Scene in Bike Kingdom

We were on the ground to capture the scene live. Arriving in Lenzerheide, there’s an unmistakable buzz. Fans line the track shoulder-to-shoulder, their cowbells clanging as if echoing across every ridge of the Graubünden mountains. The course itself, familiar but unforgiving, was running faster and drier than usual. Clouds of dust hung in the trees like smoke each time a rider came barreling through the woods. Mechanics had been fighting punctures and flat tyres all week; by finals day, the margins between placing and disaster were hair-thin.

This was the final European round before the series shifts across the Atlantic to Lake Placid and Mont-Sainte-Anne. With the overall standings hanging in the balance, every pedal stroke counted.

Men’s Elite: Pierron Strikes Back
Image: UCI Downhill World Cup. Finals Men Elite winner @ BIKE KINGDOM – LENZERHEIDE / Amaury PIERRON (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION) / *©️ WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series / Bartek Wolinski*

No one embodied resilience more than winner Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction). His 2025 season has been defined by setbacks, most notably a broken collarbone mid-season, but Lenzerheide proved the perfect stage for a comeback. Forced through Q2 after mechanical issues, Pierron had every reason to doubt his chances. Instead, he produced a ferocious run of 2:44.6, good enough for his 13th career World Cup win, tying him with Australian legend Sam Hill for fifth all-time.

Pierron’s style was unmistakable: raw aggression, yet controlled where it mattered. His back wheel seemed to skim the edge of disaster through the root webs, yet he carried speed that none could match. At the bottom, visibly surprised, he admitted:

“I really didn’t expect that one. It was quite a nightmare weekend for me, a lot of problems with mechanicals. Everything looked like it was going wrong… I gave everything I had today and it was enough for the win.”

The story of the afternoon was championship leader Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate). The Canadian phenom came into Lenzerheide with a narrow points edge over Loïc Bruni. After a blistering opening sector, disaster struck: a fall midway down the course left Goldstone unhurt but far off the pace. He remounted and rolled across in 25th place, his hopes of extending his overall lead gone. The 40 points salvaged were not enough to hold off Bruni, who finished fifth and sprung into the season lead.

Top 3 – Men’s Elite
Image: ☝ UCI Downhill World Cup. Finals Men Elite podium @ BIKE KINGDOM – LENZERHEIDE / *©️ WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series | Bartek Wolinski*

Amaury Pierron (FRA) – 2:44.699 – 250 pts
Henri Kiefer (GER) – 2:45.106 – 210 pts
Lachlan Stevens-McNab (NZL) – 2:45.513 – 180 pts

Full Results – Men’s Elite

Ronan Dunne (IRL) – 2:45.874
Loïc Bruni (FRA) – 2:46.302
Rémi Thirion (FRA) – 2:46.451
Andreas Kolb (AUT) – 2:46.498
Danny Hart (GBR) – 2:46.672
Luca Shaw (USA) – 2:46.990
Luke Meier-Smith (AUS) – 2:47.041
George Ethan Craik (GBR) – 2:47.088
Troy Brosnan (AUS) – 2:47.178
Loris Vergier (FRA) – 2:47.811
Max Hartenstern (GER) – 2:48.063
Dakotah Norton (USA) – 2:48.482
Benoit Coulanges (FRA) – 2:48.508
Jackson Connelly (AUS) – 2:49.460
Charlie Hatton (GBR) – 2:49.582
Ryan Pinkerton (USA) – 2:49.636
Loris Revelli (ITA) – 2:49.987
Oisín O’Callaghan (IRL) – 2:50.021
Daniel Castellanos Liberal (ESP) – 2:50.043
Bernard Kerr (GBR) – 2:50.045
Oliver Zwar (SWE) – 2:51.153
Jackson Goldstone (CAN) – 2:53.365
Jordan Williams (GBR) – 2:54.633
Jakob Jewett (CAN) – 2:55.539
Martin Maes (BEL) – 3:20.708
DNF – Laurie Greenland (GBR), Stefano Introzz i (ITA) 

Women’s Elite: Seagrave Back on Top
Image: UCI Downhill World Cup. Finals Women Elite winner @ BIKE KINGDOM – LENZERHEIDE / Tahnee SEAGRAVE (ORBEA / FMD RACING) / *©️ WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series / Bartek Wolinski*

For Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing), the path to victory was far from smooth. Forced through Q2 for the first time this season, she admitted the pressure nearly overwhelmed her:

I just wanted to be kind to myself and make myself feel better. I really didn’t expect to win today. The track was super different, the nerves and you start picturing every bad scenario, that was new to me.

But when it mattered, she found her flow. Despite a mistake high on the track, Seagrave hammered the pedals and never looked back, stopping the clock at 3:11.5.

Top 3 – Women’s Elite
Image: UCI Downhill World Cup. Finals Women Elite podium @ BIKE KINGDOM – LENZERHEIDE / *©️ WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series | Bartek Wolinski*

Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) – 3:11.579 – 250 pts
Nina Hoffmann (GER) – 3:11.640 – 210 pts
Valentina Höll (AUT) – 3:12.394 – 180 pts

Full Results – Women’s Elite

Gracey Hemstreet (CAN) – 3:15.051
Sacha Earnest (NZL) – 3:16.197
Phoebe Gale (GBR) – 3:16.408
Lisa Baumann (SUI) – 3:18.202
Camille Balanche (SUI) – 3:18.205
Gloria Scarsi (ITA) – 3:20.226
Anna Newkirk (USA) – 3:20.304
Mille Johnset (NOR) – 3:20.717
Lisa Bouladou (FRA) – 3:21.350
Louise-Anna Ferguson (GBR) – 3:22.005
Marine Cabirou (FRA) – 3:26.148
Veronika Widmann (ITA) – 3:26.647 

Championship Standings After Lenzerheide

With two rounds left, the overall picture is beginning to crystallize, though both titles remain very much in play.

Men’s Elite – Top 3 Overall

Loïc Bruni (FRA, Specialized Gravity) — 1629 pts
Jackson Goldstone (CAN, Santa Cruz Syndicate) — 1529 pts
Loris Vergier (FRA, Commencal/Muc-Off) — 1073 pts 

Women’s Elite – Top 3 Overall

Valentina Höll (AUT, YT Mob) — 1804 pts
Gracey Hemstreet (CAN, Norco Race Division) — 1677 pts
Tahnee Seagrave (GBR, Orbea/FMD Racing) — 1504 pts 

What’s Next

The season closes out with a North American doubleheader:

With Bruni and Höll in control but their rivals still within striking distance, the final two weekends promise action, and possibly the tightest finish in years.