Heartbreaking final for Myriam Nicole and Thibaut Daprela.
Before the last race of this season, both COMMENCAL Muc-Off team riders were leading the overall standings.
In qualifying, Thibaut Daprela suffered a heavy crash, resulting in a broken thumb and an open fracture of the right fibula. One second and everything changed for Thibaut, who couldn’t defend his first place overall. However, due to his incredible performance this entire season, he was still able to finish 2nd overall in this 2021 World Cup. Which by the way, was only his second year in the elite category. No doubt, that with his strong mindset, he will come back stronger in 2022.
Well done Thibault!
Big disappointment also for Myriam Nicole.
A crash just at the end of her run, ruined her chances of becoming a 2021 World Champion. Nicole finished 7th, which put her overall in second place. A difficult pill to swallow for Pompon, as she knew how fast she was the entire season. As Thibaut, she will come back stronger.
Great season Pompon.
Incredible performance of our other riders
Angel Suarez felt quite comfortable in the ‘Hot Seat’ on Saturday. He started early in the race and had a perfect run, but the big guns could do it faster this time. It’s his first ever podium finish in the Elite category. Congrats Angel to an amazing third place. With this result, he finished the season in the top ten.
Amaury Pierron is back. After his injury, he showed everyone, what he’s made of and finished 4th. Despite missing two races, he was still able to finish in 6th place overall, after pulling off a very consistent season.
Let’s talk about Benoit Coulanges. After his second place at the World Champs he gained a lot of confidence and showed us, that we can expect a lot from him in the next year’s. Congrats on a 9th place in the final round and an 8th place overall. Excellent performance also from Thomas Estaque (18th), Dylan Levesque (23rd) and Antoine Pierron (27th) in their final runs.
Another woman that made us very proud is Camille Balanche. A third place in the final race and a third place overall just shows us, what a consistent rider she is. Great season Camille.
Finally, we’re very happy with our Juniors. COMMENCAL21 Team rider Pau Menoyo impressed us all during the entire season. In his first ever DH World Cup season, he finished third overall. For next year, we hope there will be less injuries and Pau can fully focus on improving and we’re sure to see him on the podium many more times. Tristan Lemire, who finished 4th in the final race, secured his position in the top five.
In Junior Women, Siel Van Der Velden and Ella Erickson showed us, of what they are capable of. They finished 3rd and 4th in this last round, which resulted in a 4th and 7th place overall.
Congratulations to all our riders for this incredible season. We are over the moon that COMMENCAL Muc-Off and the Dorval AM Teams finished 1st and 2nd in the overall team rankings.
See you next year !
Photos: Keno Derleyn
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