When the women dropped in for race runs in Saturday’s World Cup in Leogang, it was a World Cup first. A first because, until Saturday, the women had always raced before the men. In Leogang, though, they were the main attraction. The final show. The marquee event.
And Höll, from just outside Leogang, took full advantage of the spotlight. The reigning world champion smashed the course to take her third-straight Leogang win. The world champ was aware of the stakes, and that there were some doubters in the historically male-dominated sport, and loved the massive home crowd cheering on the women’s race.
“I’m pretty stoked there’s still people watching us. A lot of haters said no one would be left when we’re racing but look around, the crowd is still here,” an enthusiastic Höll said post-race. “It’s pretty epic. Women’s sport is fucking amazing.”
She’s not wrong. While we loved watching Finn Iles win the men’s race, we also loved seeing Gracey Hemstreet score another top-10 in the women’s race. The women’s event is getting faster and more competitive every year right alongside the men’s and, as Höll proved, is more than ready to share the spotlight more equally.
Leogang may have been the first time the women occupied the primetime position on the schedule. After a thrilling race in Leogang, we hope it won’t be the last.
If you missed Saturday’s women’s races, you can catch highlights of the elite and junior women’s racing below. Along with Höll’s dominant performance and Hemstreet’s top 10, there’s a good amount of Can-con in the junior race, too. Tayte Proulx-Royds and Cameron Bragg both score top 10 finishes in the junior race before the elites get a chance to go out on course.
Leogang World Cup: Elite Women’s Downhill Highlights
Full Race: Junior Women’s Downhill