World Cup season ends in France.

The World Cup downhill season ended this past weekend in Meribel,  France and Loic Bruni led the charge with a 4th place finish for the men. For the women, Emmeline Ragot raced to a second place finish, capping off a great season.

The brand new track here in Meribel was steep, technical and fast. Many people have called it the track of the year, and even potentially one of the best downhill tracks of all time. With dusty conditions, the track was as fast and loose as racers have seen all season. Taped wide from top to bottom, there were line choices all over the place.

With dark skies threatening all morning, by the time the top 30 men dropped, the sky had gone blue and the tens of thousands of french fans were out in force. They were just as loud for the French racers as they were for the superstars of the sport, and every rider was urged to the finish by the cheers as they dropped into the last minute of track, which was almost all in the open within sight of the finish.

Meribel also wrapped up the overall and SDG riders were all over the top 5 after the 7 race season. Aaron Gwin took second place, while teammate Troy Brosnan stood on the third step. On the ladies side of things, Emmeline Ragot took home third place in the overall rankings.  Loris Vergier rode his SDG saddle into the overall world cup lead for the juniors.

Riders now head to Hafjell, Norway for the World Championships next weekend before a well deserved off season begins.