2025 DHI.4 Val Di Sole - Camille Balanche
racing

'25 DHI.4 //
Val Di Sole

Heat rising in Val Di Sole, Italy

Solstice on the Black Snake 

Summer officially arrived on the infamous 'Black Snake' World Cup Downhill track at Val Di Sole in the northern Italian region of Trentino. 

DHI.4: Val Di Sole brought yet another hyper-competitive field with nowhere to hide as riders battled through Qualification for a coveted spot in the Finals. With no protected riders anymore, every World Cup rider must earn their start spot to make it to Finals. 

Riders were met with blistering heat on the "Black Snake" track in Val Di Sole, which proved remarkably dynamic and unforgiving from practice through the finals. Rocky, rooty, dusty, and steep, the track claimed some of the biggest riders and chewed through countless bikes throughout the race week. 

Yeti / FOX Junior riders Tyler Waite and Jonty Williamson looked strong in Qualifying and easily cruised through to finals. Williamson placed P4, with Waite .005 seconds behind in P5. 

Camille Balanche decoded the course quickly as she dialed in her Special Projects DH bike to finish with a solid P4 in Qualifying.  

Richie Rude felt good all week and nearly made it into Finals in Q1 with a P33, but sadly didn't make finals after a P25 in Q2. The new World Cup format takes no prisoners, but Richie soldiers on with the team's full support. 

"VDS – it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks to ride on the circuit. I came into the weekend with the plan to avoid some issues from Leogang, and with some last-minute setup changes before Qualifications definitely gave me the confidence to go a bit quicker. But I struggled to feel comfortable enough to push for the extra pace in Q2 to get into finals. At least I beat the juniors on Quali day, ha! Good weekend for me and Shaun though, coming out of it healthy, intact, and with some positive takeaways. Thanks to the sponsors for the support!"
- Richie Rude

With Camille, Jonty, and Tyler all in the top 5 in Qualis, hopes were high that Yeti would have riders on the box when finals were complete.

In the Men’s Junior race, Jonty coming out swinging and looking fast through the splits, but a bobble knocked him off the pace. Luckily, he still managed to lock down P7. Jonty now sits in 6th place in the UCI DHI Junior World Cup Overall. 

"I had a super fun time in Val Di Sole. The track was super rough all week and I’m pretty happy with my run. I enjoyed it a bit more than Loudenvielle and Leogang – just a bit more technical. Went P4 in Qualis and unfortunately crashed in racing, but held onto P7 in Finals which I'm super stoked on. Keen for La Thuille.” 
- Jonty Williamson 

Tyler continued his consistent World Cup performance, sitting near the hot seat until the final three riders dropped. Tyler was able to lock in a strong P4, and he remains in Second overall in the UCI DHI Junior World Cup standings, just 20 points behind Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off). 

"It's been a sick time in Val Di Sole. One of the roughest tracks I've ever ridden I'd say. The conditions were super loose and dry and I was struggling to find the flow. I was a few seconds back in Qualifying, and I really needed to step my game up for race day. Come Finals I felt really good, and I pieced together one of the best runs I've had this year, and I am real happy with that. Looking forward to the next one.” 
- Tyler Waite 

In the Women's Finals, Camille proved to be a consistent contender. Through split 1, hopes were high as she scored the second fastest time of the day. The rough track took its toll, but Cam fought through and finished P6 on the day, and 6th place overall in the UCI DHI Women's World Cup rankings. 

"World Cup #4 in Val Di Sole, the first proper DH track of the year. I was really looking forward to it – super technical, rough, rocks, roots and steeps. Super sick to be back there. Everything started really well – training was really good and slowly was getting up to speed. I had a solid run in Qualifying, and even with a few mistakes, I ended up 4th. I wanted to push more in Finals, so we managed to make the bike more supportive and set up to push on this terrain, but it made the bike really hard on the body. I started my race run strong but I got tired and was really fighting the bike. Overall, a really good weekend; I’m still in healthy and in one piece. I’m looking forward to La Thuille, which will be quite similar to this one." 
- Camille Balanche 

Up Next: Riders return to Canazei for EDR.5, where Sławomir Łukasik will work to defend the leader’s jersey and his 258-point lead in the UCI EDR World Cup standings. 

Catch up on round 3
'25 DHI.3 // Leogang