Valentina Höll wins fifth consecutive downhill world title

Salzburg rider Valentina Höll won her fifth consecutive downhill world title at the mountain bike world championships in Val di Sole on Saturday, ORF reported.

The 24-year-old from the Pinzgau region mastered the course’s difficult sections and finished 1.7 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Lisa Baumann. Britain’s Harriet Harnden took third.

Höll secured her fifth overall World Cup title in Les Gets last weekend. France’s Myriam Nicole, a two-time world champion and twice a recent silver medallist, missed the race because of illness.

Höll had crashed at the Val di Sole venue in 2021 while targeting her first world championship gold. This time, she delivered a perfect run and matched Britain’s Rachel Atherton with five world titles. France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson remains the record holder with nine.

Höll’s victory was Austria’s second title at the championships. Tyrol’s Laura Stigger won the cross-country short-track event and is also among the medal contenders for Sunday’s Olympic-distance race.