Jackson Goldstone stood in the start gate at Val di Sole as the last rider on the mountain. The Canadian needed one clean run to defend his elite men's downhill world title. Below him, Lachlan Stevens-McNab had already laid down a time that rewrote the race.
A slow start, then a furious charge
Stevens-McNab was 1.2 seconds ahead at the first split and kept building. By the finish, the New Zealander had stretched his advantage to 2.8 seconds. When Goldstone dropped in, the clock immediately worked against him — he was 0.2 seconds down at split one and still 0.4 seconds back at split three.
Then the Black Snake began to give something back. Overnight rain had left the notoriously rough 2.3-kilometre course slick, but as the sun dried the track through the afternoon, the final sector opened up. Goldstone found speed where almost everyone else had struggled.
0.6 seconds of survival
The riding grew wilder near the bottom. Goldstone's tires broke loose through one of the final corners, yet he stayed on the pedals and kept pushing. He power-wheelied over the last jump and crossed the line 0.6 seconds ahead of Stevens-McNab, his hands shaking as the rainbow jersey was secure.
"Oh my God, I'm absolutely speechless, still trying to catch my breath from that run," Goldstone told reporters afterwards. "This is an absolute dream again. I can't believe I get to say that again."
Val di Sole is becoming a defining venue in his career. He won a junior world championship there in 2021, claimed a World Cup victory on the same track in 2023, and repeated that feat last season before adding this elite world title. His first elite rainbow jersey came a year earlier in Champéry, where he won by nearly two seconds.
The margin this time was far tighter. World Cup leader Jordan Williams missed Stevens-McNab's target by just 0.007 seconds to finish third. Goldstone arrived with a season that had not sparkled — a crash in practice and a third-place qualifying run hinted at vulnerability. He left no doubt when it counted.
