As soon as last week's World Cup Downhill race at Lenzerheide ended, the world's fastest racers headed straight to the small country of Andorra to prepare for the first back-to-back race of the season. This year, the legendary track in Andorra made its return to the World Cup circuit for the first time since 2019, but with some updates including a large wooden drop near the finish line. The conditions were loose and looked similar to those in Southern California, but that didn't stop Vali Höll from taking the big win in the women's elite final.
After winning the final two rounds of the 2021 season and taking the overall World Cup Downhill Elite Women's title, there's no debating Vali has been one of the fastest on the mountain, but she wasn't able to put it all together and take a win at the first four round of this season. Andorra however was different. Qualifying fourth despite some bobbles, Vali put herself in a good position to push pace in the final. Green straight out of the gate, Vali put down a heater that clocked a 3:09, four seconds better than the fastest qualifying time. with only three rider's left, Vali's time would hold up to be the fastest and earn her the big win.
Adding to the success of the RockShox Trek Race Team, the youngster Tegan Cruz had himself a great day with a personal best third place finish in Junior Mens.
"Race run was one of my cleanest and smoothest, nothing crazy, just tried to go with the flow." - Vali Höll
More good news, Camille Balanche joined Vali on the Elite Women's podium with a third place finish. The valuable points keep Cami in the overall series lead and she keeps the leader's jersey and number one plate.
Adding to the TLD success, the impressive youngster Jenna Hasting earned her fourth podium in row at Andorra. Sitting third overall in the Junior Women's points standings, only 65 points behind first, Jenna continues to gain speed as the season continues.