Finn Iles makes it two weeks in a row; Ana Newkirk takes her debut win at Lenzerheide!

Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) only had to wait seven days to claim his third Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup race victory,

whilst it was a history-making day for American Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / TRP) to claim a debut win at the 10th edition of the UCI World Cup in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). 

After previously waiting 1,400 days for his second career victory, Finn Iles threw caution to the wind to secure back-to-back wins at round four. In doing so, he denied Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF by Riding Addiction) a fourth victory in Switzerland and moved to the top of the overall standings.

Fastest qualifier Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / TRP) completed an impressive weekend of racing by claiming her debut win, having perfected the undulating task of the shortest downhill course in the series.

While Valentina Höll (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) retained the lead in the Women Elite UCI Downhill World Cup standings despite seeing her three-win streak come to an end, everything was up for grabs at the beginning of the afternoon in the men’s race, with 19 riders mathematically in reach of first place.

Weather conditions were perfect for the riders to tackle the relentless track, but the slopes of Lenzerheide lived up to their brutal reputation with riders balancing risk with reward.

None more so than in the men’s Junior category, where Jonty Williamson (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) extended his flawless record and opened up a 110-point lead over Felix Griffiths (Santa Cruz Syndicate). Meanwhile, Lina Frener (Norco x adidas Race Division) moved within five points on leader Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon DH Racing), with back-to-back victories in the women’s Junior category.

ILES MAKES IT BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES AND GOES TOP OF STANDINGS

Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) made it back-to-back victories to move top of the Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup standings with an aggressive win in Lenzerheide.

It was another action-packed start to the elite men’s race with Benoit Coulanges (Scott Downhill Factory), Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing / TRP), Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate), Amaury Pierron (COMMENCAL / MUC OFF by Riding Addiction) and Luca Shaw (Canyon Racing) all having to go through Q2 in order to reach the final and starting their final earlier than they would have liked.

Coulanges was one of the first heavy hitters to tackle the course in Lenzerheide and took 4.346 seconds off the opening two racers’ times. However, the French rider was unable to sustain the challenge when he went off-course shortly after the third time split.

Having won in Lenzerheide in the Junior category last season, Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing TRP) made a quick start in search of a second Elite UCI World Cup victory and raced through the midsection, building in confidence and speed which would see him move into the hotseat.

However, he was shortly displaced by three-time winner at Lenzerheide, Amaury Pierron, who put himself firmly in contention of adding a fourth to his record and increasing his lead at the top of the UCI Downhill World Cup standings. Forced to go through Q2, Pierron made no mistake as he stormed out of the start hut to set the fastest time in the first split, which countless riders after struggled to get into touching distance of. Continuing to take time on Vermette, Pierron’s smooth yet explosive run would see the Frenchman take 0.754 out of the American’s time.

UCI Downhill World Champion and 2025 UCI Downhill World Cup overall winner Jackson Goldstone’s wait for a win in 2026 continued in Switzerland, but the Santa Cruz Syndicate was able to rectify the errors which saw him forced to go through Q2 to reach the Finals and put together a solid run to put his season back on track, which saw him finish in fourth and 1.304 down on Iles.

Ethan Craik (Scott Downhill Factory) was one of the few to get in touching distance of Pierron’s time, finishing 1.118 second behind the Frenchman having gained speed as the course dragged on.

Pierron’s prolonged wait in the hot seat came to an end as Iles backed up his Saalfelden- Leogang Salzburgerland victory with a dominant run in Switzerland, mastering each section to beat Pierron’s time by four hundredths of a second with a time of 2:46.348, whilst Vermette achieved a second podium of the season.

Penultimate starter Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek-Unbroken DH) was unable to put together a similar run to Q1 despite a promising start, having suffered a puncture in the midsection, whilst final starter Ryan Pinkerton (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) was forced to settle for 11th.

Iles now leads the standings after four rounds, with a lead of 41 points over Amaury Pierron ahead of round five in La Thuile, Val d’Aosta (Italy).

After back-to-back victories, Iles said:

“It feels incredible. These are the kind of things you dream of. I was really hoping to take momentum from last weekend and I felt good for day one."

“The boys have been working really hard all week and we knew we had a really fast bike. Today, leading up to finals, I think I slept for three hours. I was like sleeping, sleeping, sleeping until I got to the warm-up and it was gametime. I knew I felt good as soon as I came out of the gate and from there, it just had to focus on what I was doing and I can’t believe it.”