To start the 2022 Downhill World Cup circuit, Squamish’s Jackson Goldstone picked up right where he left off in 2021, opening the year in Lourdes, France with a first-place finish in the men’s 17-18 category on March 27. He then followed that performance up with back-to-back second-place finishes in Fort William, Great Britain and Leogang, Austria on May 22 and June 11, respectively. Goldstone was edged out by Great Britain’s Jordan Williams in his last two races.
Matching Goldstone step-for-step from the women’s side was the Sunshine Coast’s Gracey Hemstreet who, through the same three races, had two first-place finishes to start the year followed by a third-place finish in Leogang last weekend in the women’s 17-18 category.
In his first year competing on the World Cup circuit, Pemberton’s Tegan Cruz has also had some solid results with a 10th-place finish in Lourdes followed by a seventh in Fort William and an 11th in Leogang.
In the elite men’s category, Whistler’s Finn Iles is back to his usual routine, snagging a second-place finish to open the year in Lourdes before following that up with a sixth-place finish in Leogang.
Rounding out the other notable local performances, Tegan’s older brother Lucas rode to 31st-place and 57th-place finishes in Fort William and Leogang, respectively. Squamish’s Seth Sherlock also managed a 31st-place finish in the elite men’s category in Leogang this past weekend.
Next up for many of the local riders will be Crankworx Innsbruck from June 15 to 19, followed by the next World Cup stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland from July 8 to 10.
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