Aaron Gwin set a record of four consecutive World Cup downhill wins during the 2012 campaign. On Sunday, Jackson Goldstone equalled that feat.
The Squamolian conquered La Thuile's track, the steepest of its kind in history, in three minutes and 27.134 seconds to edge out reigning UCI world champ Loris Vergier (3:27.738). Vergier's fellow Frenchman, Loïc Bruni, checked in for third (3:28.173).
Goldstone's teammate, Nina Hoffmann, also contributed to a marvellous day for Santa Cruz Syndicate by winning the elite ladies' race (3:57.934) despite injuries from a crash last month in Leogang, Austria. Valentina Höll settled for silver (4:00.928) and Gracey Hemstreet went home with bronze (4:01.130).
"I’m on a roll, it’s such a crazy feeling to be able to do four in a row," said Goldstone in a press release. "I can’t believe that just happened, it felt right during the whole run and I was stoked with everything. I had a few moments, the dust is so soft and powdery here that it’s really hard not to get sunk in and have those mistakes. I pushed through, gave it everything to the bottom and it was good enough.
"I would have been eight years old when [Aaron Gwin won four in a row], it’s a pretty cool statistic."
Dream come true
The La Thuile venue is punishing even under ideal conditions: a 2.3-kilometre long course with an average gradient of 28 per cent and 641 metres of descent. Mix in some rain, and it's understandable that last weekend's race featured crashes and delays.
Gwin himself could do no better than 14th, but Vergier put down a quick run that might have launched him atop the podium on another day. Bruni faltered just enough to wind up short of his compatriot, setting the stage for Goldstone's effort.
As fastest qualifier, Goldstone watched everybody else drop in before putting his immaculate technical prowess on display. He ignited his afterburners to prevail by six-tenths of a second, extending Vergier's winless streak on the World Cup circuit to over 1,000 days.
"I was struggling on Thursday in practice a little bit, but I kept building from there. Qualification was a lot better and I wasn’t expecting that," Goldstone admitted. "I’m really happy to be able to bring it home. I try to keep myself as focused and in the moment as possible, I don’t look at the times or watch the live stream.
"What a day for Santa Cruz Syndicate, I’m so proud of Nina [Hoffmann] who won her first race of the year. I can’t believe I have the chance [to go five in a row], saying that is a dream come true, we’ll give it our best shot."
'I'm such an emotional person, I can't believe it'
Hoffmann achieved her first World Cup victory since 2023 whilst showing little sign of being injured. The German rider's performance was defined by controlled aggression as she skilfully navigated the steep track.
Trying some different lines in search of her first gold medal of the year, Höll came up short nonetheless. Hemstreet entered Sunday's action as top qualifier, but likewise proved unable to challenge the Santa Cruz athlete.
"I’m such an emotional person, I can’t believe it,” said Hoffmann. “I came down to the finish and turned around to see my time was under four minutes. I had in my head that the winning time was going to be under four minutes. I thought whatever the other girls did that was a really good run and I’m stoked about that already. I don’t know how I ended up in P1. I was really nervous when Valentina [Höll] came down because she’s a benchmark, she was slower and then Tahnee [Seagrave] also lost time at the bottom...was pretty sure either Tahnee or Gracey was going to get me.
"I know Gracey was not the best at the first split, but she was almost two seconds behind. I thought: ‘oh my God, that’s a lot already’. This is why it means so much to me, where I came from in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland sending it over the wall ride. Holding it all back in Val di Sole – Trentino and being so happy just to ride and just trying to build confidence. This weekend I could feel it clicked a bit again, I feel myself again but I still don’t want to push too much and have another crash. It worked out somehow."
For more results from La Thuile, click here.
