8 OVERALL WORLD CUP VICTORIES 2022

DOWNHILL

Athletes' tire choices depend on the track, conditions and weather. The setup that worked great during training in the wet can no longer be the best possible choice for the last course check in the dry. This is how Camille Balanche (Dorval AM/Commencal) experienced it in Leogang. She switched to Dirty Dan for the third World Cup competition and won 11 seconds ahead of Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off), who was also riding Schwalbe.

Nicole secured the last World Cup victory in Val di Sole and thus moved up to second place in the overall ranking. She ended up behind the Swiss Balanche, who was the outstanding driver this year. For the men, her counterpart is Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off). The Frenchman triumphed in Lourdes, Fort William, Lenzerheide and Snowshoe and thus became the superior overall World Cup winner. He also won the team classification with Commencal/Muc-Off.

Above all, Schwalbe's Magic Mary is THE winning tire par excellence in downhill. He has already won well over 50 World Cups. But depending on the weather, track and conditions, tire choice can vary.

The Schwalbe Race Support Team is on site at all races to ensure the perfect tire choice, often supplemented by product management and test laboratory experts. The follow-up discussions with the drivers and mechanics after the race show how crucial the selection of the different tire types, profiles, rubber compounds, carcasses and tire widths is for the self-confidence and success of the drivers.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The Schwalbe success story also continued in cross-country. There, Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) crowned herself with the overall World Cup victories in XCC (short track) and XCO (cross country) over the Olympic distance. The Swiss won her first ever XCO World Cup race on Schwalbe's Racing Ray in Snowshoe and impressed with very consistent results. Alan Hatherly (Cannondale Factory Team) secured the overall World Cup victory in the men's XCC thanks to his second place on Racing Ralph after a spirited race in Val di Sole.

And the U23 overall ratings were also firmly in Schwalbe's hands. Line Burquier (Canyon CLLCTV) and Martin Vidaurre Kossmann (Lexware Mountainbike Team) pushed the number of overall World Cup victories for Schwalbe riders to eight.

SCHWALBE FIRST RIDE

The development work with the top athletes in the World Cup pays off for all cyclists. Because what starts as a prototype in Schwalbe's First Ride program in high-performance sport is further developed with feedback from the drivers and ultimately ends up in Schwalbe's series tires. Not only in mountain bikes, but also in other segments at Schwalbe, the technology developed in this way is used.

DOWNHILL

1. Camille Balanche (Dorval AM COMMENCAL)
1. Amaury Pierron (Commencal Muc-Off)
1. Team score: Commencal Muc-Off

XCO

1. Alexandra Keller (Thömus Maxon)

XCC