One week after the downhill World Cup finals, the iXS European Downhill Cup will finish for this season as well. The seventh and last race of the series will be held in Todtnau, Germany this weekend.
The long, and for some boring, off-season will soon be here, but one more big event is still to come. The downhill course in Germany's oldest bike park has been shaped perfectly and is in mint condition. It's 3km long and has a vertical drop of almost 500m.
The most exciting fight for the top spot on the podium is expected in the elite women's race as the four candidates for the overall win are just a few points apart from each other. Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) leads the overall rankings with 132 points. She is followed by Swiss Champion Miriam Ruchti (SC-Intense) with 128 points ahead of Slovenian Champion Zarja Cernilogar (Crn Trn GT) with 126 points and Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) with 122 points. Unfortunately, Pugin will not be able to defend her position due to a broken bone in her hand during the last World Cup race.
Among the elite men, things are not quite so close together. After the last race in Châtel, France Robin Wallner (Team Åre Bikepark) put himself in the lead with 488 points, ahead of Johann Potgieter (Canfield Factory Racing) with 459 points. Ranked third is Damien Spagnolo (MS Mondraker) ahead of his teammate Markus Pekoll in fourth with 350 points. Pekoll's only chance to secure a podium spot though would be a bad result of one of the leading riders.
Last year, Ruchti and Pekoll took the win in the overall series.
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