The opening round of the 2024 4X ProTour took place in Val Di Sole, Italy at the weekend. Held as part of the UCI World Cup weekend, this event attracts thousands of fans who flock to Val Di Sole to watch 4X ProTour and the World Cup disciplines of DH and XC.
The track in Val Di Sole is incredible. Built for the 4X World Championships in 2008 the track has stood the test of time, only receiving some minor updates in the last 15 years. It is one of the best tracks on the circuit and always provides entertainment. Huge corners, massive jumps and a big rock garden litter this 45 second long track to test the best in the world.
Thursday – Qualifying:
Practice was busy, as riders only had an hour to master this technical track. It was in the best condition due to a few days of rainfall. Lot’s of grip and speeds were high as riders pushed to the limits. The sun was shining, and the track was absolutely perfect and riders were looking faster than ever. The format for this year’s race was qualifying on Thursday night and finals on Friday night. With the schedule fitting around DH, it was great to see some DH riders entered.
After practice it was qualifying. With just one lap to qualify into the main event, the pressure was on all the riders to have a smooth but aggressive lap.
In the elite women’s qualifying, it was an amazing ride from Abigail Hogie who crossed the finish line in a time of 55.379, a full second ahead of Kerenza Scott in 2nd and Georgia Hennessy in 3rd.
In elite men’s qualifying, it was going to be tight. Every rider was looking for a perfect run but the fast track this year was tricky and catching a few riders out. At the sharp end, it was defending 4X ProTour Champion Tomas Slavik from Czech Republic who had a perfect run to take the fastest time with a 44.479 ahead of Stefano Dolphin, Samuel Willimann and Luca Thurlow. 4 nationalities in the top 6 (Czech Republic, Suisse, Italian and British) and all separated by 1.5 seconds.
Friday – Race:
As normal the crowds flocked to Val Di Sole for the 4X. Thousands of fans with chainsaws, flares, fireworks, horns and old frames being beaten with metal. Anything that made noise was trackside. The atmosphere was electric. The best it has ever been.
At 21.00 the gate dropped and the nights racing got underway. In the first round of racing the top 16 riders basically transferred through to the quarter finals with no shock results, but that all changed in the Quarter final when last year’s overall number 4 rider, Tomas Brook went out.
In the women’s semi finals, British BMX star, Morgan Haslam rode a perfect lap to take the win ahead of fastest qualifier Abigail Hogie. The battle of BMX vs DHer was great to watch. In semi final 2, Georgia Hennessy took a great win from Kerenza Scott who held off the challenge from Katherine Oldfield at the finish line.
The downhillers who raced in the men’s were also doing good, but in the semi finals they would come up against the experienced 4X riders. In semi final 1, the GOAT of 4X, Tomas Slavik took a convincing win ahead of Luca Thurlow, who was impressing everyone on his 4X debut.
In semi final 2, it was local hero Stefano Dolfin who took the win to the delight of the Italian crowds from Tristan Botteram. Botteram had an amazing race with Samuel Willimann and the Godfather of 4X – Scott Beaumont. Botteram making a great pass in the final turns to book his place in the final.
Onto the final and the women stepped up to the gate. The times in qualifying had been tight and no one was sure which way this race would go. In the small final, Katherine Oldfield took a victory lap to claim the final step on the podium. In the main final, In her first ever 4X race, Morgan Haslam grabbed the holeshot and didn’t look back. She rode like a seasoned pro and took a convincing win ahead of Abigail Hogie, Georgia Henness and Kerenza Scott.
Next it was the mens small final. The gate dropped and through the first 2 corners it was hectic. Samuel Willimann escaped the bumping behind to take the lead. Beaumont was right behind with Lehmann and Sachem Vanek chasing. Vanek then moved to 2nd, but tucked his front wheel crashing out in turn 5. Beaumont had to avoid the crash and Lehmann was able to capitalise. Across the line it was Willimann from Lehmann, Beaumont and Vanek.
The last race of the day was the elite men’s final. Tomas Slavik took gate 1, Stefano Dolfin took gate 2, Luca Thurlow took 3 and Tristan Botteram slotted into 4. The scene was set for a brilliant final.
As the gate dropped, it was Slavik with the initial jump out of the gate and he held the inside line in turn 1. Dolfin moved into 2nd and was hunting Slavik. There was a bump between the DH guys and Thurlow was down. It also cost Botteram time, so the 4X guys were long gone. Dolfin kept Slavik honest all the way but was not able to make a pass. Tomas Slavik one again showed the world why he is regarded as the GOAT and took the win from Dolfin, Botteram and Thurlow.
After the race an impressive podium was held and the awards were given out to the winners.
We just wanted to add that this was one of the best 4X races in the history of the sport. The track was the best it has ever been, the crowd was simply crazy and the riders put on an incredible show. Thank you Val Di Sole.
The next stop of the 2024 4X ProTour will take place in 4 weeks, on July 12th/13th at JBC Bikepark in Czech Republic, home of, you guessed it, Tomas Slavik. Tomas has built his track even bigger than ever. The other riders have 4 weeks to try and get a plan figured out for how to stop him taking another win. We can’t wait to see that race unfold.
Results
Women:
1. Morgan Haslam
2. Abigail Hogie
3. Georgia Henness
4. Kerenza Scott
5. Katherine Oldfield
Men:
1. Tomas Slavik
2. Stefano Dolfin
3. Tristan Botteram
4. Luca Thurlow
5. Samuel Willimann
That’s it from Val Di Sole. Incredible racing and huge crowds. Thank you to the organising committee at Val Di Sole for another amazing 4X ProTour race. This venue has the heart of all 4X riders and fans. See you again in 2025.
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Photo Credits: Charles Robertson