The European downhill champions will be crowned this weekend in Champéry. From a Swiss perspective, the experienced Camille Balanche and the up-and-coming Lisa Baumann have the best prospects.
10.08.2024, 05:15
10.08.2024, 09:19
SDA
The first combined mountain bike world championships will take place in Valais in September 2025. Just over a year before the highlight, this weekend will see a special kind of dress rehearsal in the downhill discipline, as the European Championships will be held on the World Championship course in Champéry. The starting fields for the continental championships, which are usually rather average, are correspondingly high quality. "Everyone wants to gain experience on the World Championship track. The standard will be extremely high," says the up-and-coming Lisa Baumann (22) from Neuchâtel, who won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Les Menuires in France last year.
The starting position for Camille Balanche is extraordinarily challenging. The former world champion and overall World Cup winner is still suffering from the consequences of her serious crash in Andorra last August. "When my energy reserves are full, I can set very good times. It feels like before the accident. But my ability to concentrate deteriorates much faster and then it becomes dangerous," says the 34-year-old from Neuchâtel about the effects of her traumatic brain injury. For this reason, she has recently refrained from taking part in qualifying and final races in the World Cup on several occasions.
Unlike World Cup races, the European Championship competition in Champéry only consists of one run on Saturday and one on Sunday. There is no semi-final, which suits Balanche.
