Tahnee Seagrave stormed to a brilliant bronze medal in the elite women’s downhill final as Danny Hart came home fourth on the fourth day of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra.
Elite women downhill
Having qualified second, Tahnee Seagrave was the British favourite for the elite women’s downhill in Andorra. The 2013 junior world champion fired out the gate and was up by two tenths at the first split.
Seagrave continued to push hard and was back two tenths in the second split to sit in second place. Seagrave continued to stay calm, entering the wooded section with blistering speed, and was just three hundredths of a second back at the fourth time check.
It was down to the wire as Seagrave entered the final section of the course, sailing over the rocky section and entering the final straight with unbelievable speed. Powering over the line, Seagrave was just seven tenths of a second behind the hot seat leader Myriam Nicole (France), clocking in with 3:01.424.
With four riders to go, it was a tense wait, but the British rider’s sizzling speed was enough to take her fourth elite world medal with a brilliant bronze behind Nicole and three-time world champion Valentina Holl (Austria).
Louise-Anna Ferguson delivered a huge ride to finish in 15th place, while Phoebe Gale showed her incredible technical style to take 18th in her second year of elite racing.
All-round cycling specialist and national champion Hattie Harnden had a strong and controlled run to finish in 19th as Mikayla Parton came home in 26th in a composed ride.
Having had a hugely successful season on the national circuit, Stacey Fisher finished in 29th, and first year elite rider Aimi Kenyon had a fantastic run to finish in 36th position.
Elite men downhill
Two-time world champion Danny Hart sailed into the hot seat with a ferocious run, before finishing in fourth place overall.
Having qualified third, the national champion had a controlled start, smoothly making it out the gate, and gaining huge speed over the rocky sections. He lost a second and a half at the third split, but regained momentum in the closing stages to storm into first position in 2:38.944. Unfortunately, he was eventually knocked off the top spot and finished in a fantastic fourth position.
National champion Matt Walker had a brilliant run, taking the berms and dry conditions in his stride to finish in 11th position.
2023 world bronze medallist Laurie Greenland has struggled this season with injury, but came out fighting in his final run. A fearless start saw him in touching distance of the top spot with only one tenth behind in the first three splits. A small slip in a bend saw Greenland slightly lose composure, but recovered quickly, clocking 2:41.218 to finish in 14th place.
Reigning world champion Charlie Hatton had a technically sound and controlled run to come home in 19th – a great achievement after a difficult season with injury. Riding in his ninth world championships, Greg Williamson used his experience to put down an impressive run to finish 26th , as Bernard Kerr rode in his signature smooth style to take 32nd place.
Joe Breeden came home in 46th position as 2020 world champion Reece Wilson finished 75th to round off the British placings.
The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships finishes tomorrow, with the final cross-country races for the under-23 and elite women and men.
