The Andorra Downhill World Series Pre Race Show! (Bruni VS Goldstone?!)

Welcome back sports fans, the round six of the UCI Downhill World Series kicks in Andorra this weekend so, let’s get into it!

In this episode of The Race Companion, host Andrew Neethling dives into everything you need to know before locking in your team: track insights, weather warnings, past results, and who’s hot (and not) heading into the weekend.

Big questions:
Can Jackson Goldstone make it 5 wins in a row?
Will Loïc Bruni go all-in at home?
Is Nina unbeatable right now?
Who are the real sleeper picks?

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or new to the sport, this is how you take your race weekends to the next level. Pick your dream team, score points based on real UCI Downhill World Series results, and compete with friends or globally for awesome prizes.

Sign up FREE at: https://www.theracecompanion.com

HOW TO PLAY:
– Create your team – Choose from real riders competing in the 2025 season.
– Score points – Points are based on actual race results each round.
– Win prizes – Join the global league to be in with a chance of winning prizes!
– Repeat – It all resets each round, so stay sharp!

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Welcome back sports fans. This is the race companion mountain bike fantasy podcast. I’m your host Andrew Nettling. You may know me from Moving the Needle podcast. Thanks for joining us. We are jumping into the race preview for the sixth round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series. It’ll be held in Andor. Has a long history in World Cup down in Andoran Bike Park. Has been a staple of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup circuit since 2008. I was lucky enough to race that back in the day. Quite a few years ago, isn’t it? It’s also hosted three world championships. We are back to the shorter course which is higher up on the hill. It has been famous for that long grueling course that drops all the way down into the um Andorian little town there. But um the faster more simpler track you can call makes for some crazy exciting racing. It is very exposed at the top. So wind can affect the race as well as thunderstorms do roll through the valley um at any time. You basically almost can’t predict it. Now the power and bike park is located in the heart of the Pyrenees. It’s just a short D journey from the Andoran border border in Spain. It is 1.9 km long and it drops uh 458 m. So yeah, action-packed track. Let’s jump into the previous winners. Now last year it was world champs. The famous run by Loris Vier claiming those rainbow rainbow stripes was awesome. He beat out Benoir Koulange who’s not having the best season so far. So can he bounce back on a track that he can ride very well. Then Finn Isles is in third and he was also very good the the year previous. Are we going to see Finn Isles back between the tape? This really helped Danny Hart’s season last year. Danny Hart was in fourth and Amry Peron in fifth. The elite women, Valley Hall took down Miriam Nicole over Tarnie Seagrave. Gracie Hemstead was in fourth and Lisa Bowman, who we’ll chat a bit later, was in fifth. Something to note though is Nina Hoffman, previous to this win she just took in Lat, this was her previous win back in 2023. So that’s something to look out for. Now, how about Amry Peron coming back from surgery just eight days prior to racing in a twe and managing a 10th place? Is he going to be a little bit stronger and fighting for potentially a top five? Something to note is Ronan Dunn. He’s in good spirits, but he did crash and was airlifted off and they had to actually stop the race in Lew. So, I’m not sure you should be putting him on your team. Pinkerton also crashed. Not sure if he’s going to be racing or at least fit and healthy to put down a very good time. He’s one of the few riders that has made it into uh the finals through Q1 at all the rounds so far. That’s a bit of a bummer. And now in the woman we mentioned Miriam Nicole. We’re not even sure if she’s going to be back. So make sure you try check the riders Instagrams. Um some of the articles online are helping us. But you know some of these riders are making lastm minute decisions if they are going to race. So, it is a bit challenging to pick your team, isn’t it? Now, let’s deep dive this course. I’ve said it’s ridiculously fast, which it is. Um, it’s somewhat one line. There’s a few intricacies here and there. So, I think precision and commitment is what it takes to win this race. Lloyd Brun was on an absolute tear. Now, you would think he’s a man of precision, but as you saw in Latil, he’s willing to also do some new lines. Uh, Jackson Gosson is really pushing him to his limits. Now, let’s jump into the podium picks. I just mentioned L. He lives in Andor. He was flying at the World Champs. If he didn’t crash, he for sure probably would have taken that win. And he’s mentioned he’s not too worried about the overall anymore. He just wants to try to get a win over Jackson Gold. So, is that mean he’s going to try too hard or is that the reason he’s going to smoke the field? Is he out for blood? I almost want to put him above Jackson. As crazy as that sounds, Jackson’s going for five wins in a row. This has never been done before in downhill. I made a little bit mistake when I said Danny was the last person to do that um feat of three in a row. It was actually Amry Piron. So, just sorry about that in one of the previous podcasts. I got a kind of heard on the broadcast. It was stuck in my head and then Sven and I talked about it that was the last person. But now Jackson has tied Gwyn for the last person that has done four in a row. Gwyn did that in 2012. So that’s a tall order. He’s a man that seems to not worry about pressure. It is a track that should suit him somewhat, but as a lighter rider, I don’t know if he’s going to hold as much speed through some of those middle flatter fast bits. Time will tell though. And then Loris Verier, our current world champion, won there last year. Also makes his home in Anduro riding for common cell. All those things are good, but I don’t know if that’s going to bring you good vibes or add a little bit of pressure, a little bit of weight on those shoulders in the women. I think it’s going to be hard to bet against Nenina. As much as Valley is due a win, uh she won the Worlds there last year, she’ll have good vibes. Nina Hoffman, that was a commanding win for her and Lill. So, she’ll be uh confident, she’ll be stoked. Um, can she bring the energy to Andor? And I mentioned she won there in 2023. So, she does clearly suit the track. Tony Seagrave, will we see her in the podium? I think with a shorter track and how well she starts, she’s been sort of fading a bit at some of these longer tracks at the bottom or making mistakes or blowing off track in Wol, but her splits have been great. And I think after coming out the gates so quick in Poland, maybe even a surprise to her to be that sort of fast on the new bike, I know they’re doing a lot of work on it. I think we’ll we’ll throw her on the podium. And then maybe Marine Cabaroo, not the best uh race in Lheil, which was a bit of a surprise. Um I think she might bounce back as well. Put her up there for a podium. Now, sleeper picks. This is the fun part. This is how you do well. Um I was surprised. I thought my picks from last week would have done very well. But someone else had Hugo Marini on his team, so he scored a lot of points and he would have been sort of pretty affordable to put on your team. So here are my sleeper picks. Hugo Marini carries on with his form after making his first final. And then Jean Vernando Munz after 11th place. He’s the street racer we’ve come to know and love. And this is a track you really need to be courageous. Um it’s fast. This is just flying past trees, rocks. It’s quite gnarly actually to go fast. Um maybe he’s going to be a little sleeper pick sliding him into the top 10, maybe the top five. He’s due some crazy result. And then Pelazari as well. These guys are affordable. They’ve been racing good all year. Potentially something to put on your team to try sort of gamble a bit. And then my last sleeper pick is Gwyn. Gwyn, I think it was 2023. He was on pace uh for a podium and even a win and he had like a little error. I think it was 2023. He suits this track. Um I think dipping his toe into World Cup racing is a challenge. He had a good qualifying in the twe with an error or two and then the final I just don’t think went his way. But now this is second week in a row. He’s kind of gauging what World Cup pace is after he takes a round or two off. So look for Gwyn to be strong. Then in the women, Jess coming a very strong race in LWE and then Lisa Bowman fifth at World Champs in 2024. Those should be well, I don’t think Jess Blue is that cheap for your team, but I think she’s building and could have a really nice race. Let’s look at the Fantasy League updates. Now, in first place, you’ve heard this name before, is Baggy at 5,397. Good for him. Not a big lead over Slong Q. Probably said that wrong. Probably going to keep saying it wrong unless someone I don’t know sends me a voice note which I don’t know how you’re going to do. Darren Wilcox, you’re in third place. Good job. Scott Ketty in fourth. Sketchy sketch, you’re in fifth. Chris 452 in sixth. And Julian G in seventh. So just to recap, Latil McNap, you were the leader. You luckily got a header against me. I mean, I quoted my team, man. I was actually really fired up to try to take a win, but didn’t happen. I’m gonna have to reset my team. Come out swinging for Andor. Guys, don’t forget there’s still time to head to the race companion.com. Set your team, play for prizes in the global league or even create a league of yourself and invite your mates. Remember, there are prizes for each round as well as an overall. This post show drops after every round. It’s a little summarized version, but don’t forget to uh go to Moving the Needle podcast on my channel on YouTube and all the audios. I do a way longer deep dive uh analysis. Check me for MTB news and bigger long- form interviews with some of the sports greats. Thanks so much for tuning in. Until the next one, peace.