To win on the Black Snake, you need flow, courage, and above all, a deep connection with the track. A special bond that Marine Cabirou had already shown back in 2019, when she claimed victory in the Val di Sole Downhill, and again in 2021 when she took World Championship silver—also in Trentino.
Now, six years after her first win, the 28-year-old French rider has reclaimed the crown on the legendary Black Snake with a flawless run. Cabirou mastered the track’s treacherous features and crossed the line with an untouchable time of 4:10.310.
Behind the Canyon CLLCTV athlete was World Champion Valentina Höll (YT Mob), who put in a strong showing on the top half of the course but couldn’t maintain the same fluidity in the final sector. It was in that very section that the Austrian superstar lost the 1.271 seconds that ultimately separated her from another Val di Sole win.
Rounding out the podium was two-time European Champion Monika Hrastnik (AON Racing), finishing 1.881 seconds behind the leader. The Slovenian had the satisfaction of both a prestigious podium finish and setting the fastest time in Friday’s qualifying session.
"I didn’t have a great start to the season, but I worked really hard to get back to fighting for the top spots. I’m really happy to have won today after such a tough weekend. Compared to yesterday’s qualifying, I tried to find a better rhythm and make fewer mistakes. I did it — I’m just really happy," said Marine Cabirou.
Fourth and fifth went to two rising stars of the international Downhill scene: Canadian Gracey Hemstreet and New Zealander Jess Blewitt.
Despite still chasing her first win of 2025, Höll remains at the top of the World Cup overall standings with 874 points, ahead of Hemstreet (825) and Tahnee Seagrave (672), who had to settle for 15th place today after a costly line error.
JUNIOR WOMEN: ZIERL GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN VAL DI SOLE AFTER LEOGANG’S FIRST WIN
Just over two weeks after claiming her first World Cup victory on home event in Leogang, Austria’s Rosa Zierl struck again — this time mastering the legendary Black Snake in Val di Sole.
In the Junior Women’s race, which kicked off Saturday’s Downhill program in Val di Sole, the 16-year-old Cube Factory Team rider clocked a winning time of 4:15.628. She edged out US Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV), who finished 0.612 seconds back, and New Zealand’s Kate Hastings, who rounded out the top- 2.780 seconds behind.
Zierl now leads the overall World Cup standings with 205 points, ahead of Germany’s Eliana Hulsebosch — seventh on the day — who sits second overall with 150 points.
