It’s almost time for the race season to begin. If your passion is downhill racing or you intrigued enough to know a bit more about DH, here’s who can win it overall.

>>> Five racers who could win the 2019 UCI World Cup XCO series

Gee Atherton performs at Red Bull Hardline 2017. Photographer: Boris Beyer / Red Bull Content Pool

1. Gee Atherton

Could 2019 be the year we see a resurgent Gee come back to his prime?  Finishing off the 2018 season with a second place at La Bresse, Gee looked to be recapturing some of the form that netted him two world championships. The big news as well of course is the launch of the Atherton bike brand; all eyes will be on both him and sister Rachel to prove this new bike is the real deal.

2. Martin Maes

Yes, we included Maes in the EWS riders to watch but 2018 saw him transfer his enduro skills to the World Cup DH circuit. A shock win at the seventh round in La Bresse silenced his critics and pushed a few noses out of joint. Not one to worry about making an upset Maes proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder by grabbing silver at the world championships in Lenzerheide.

Amaury Pierron seen at UCI DH World Cup in La Bresse, France on August 25th, 2018. Photo: Redbull content pool

3. Amaury Pierron

2018’s standout rider and winner of the World Cup overall. Pierron came from outside the top twenty at the first round to snatch three back to back wins and a second place at the subsequent four rounds. Amaury has captivated audiences with his skill and a classic Gallic personality that seems to hark back to the hard partying days of world cup downhill.

Tahnee Seagrave, Rachel Atherton, Myriam Nicole pose with the medals at the UCI DH World Championships in Lenzerheide on September 9th, 2018

4. Myriam Nicole

Amaury’s super fast team mate on the Commencal Vallnord team. ‘Pompon’ as she’s known, had an impressive start to 2108 with a win and two seconds in Lošinj, Fort William and Leogang. Sadly a big crash in practice at the Val di Sole round put her out for most of the remaining rounds. Pompon came back with vengeance at the last round in La Bresse to step back on the podium. She was to repeat the feat at the world championships in September.

Valentina Holl seen after the race at UCI DH World Cup in La Bresse, France on August 25th, 2018

5. Valï Holl

The Austrian wunderkind enjoyed the perfect start to her world cup downhill career winning every single round of the 2018 race season. What made it even more special was the fact the sixteen year old’s times were fast enough to compete with the best at elite level; let alone the junior category she will continue to race in for 2019. Let’s see if she can produce times that will not only put her at the top of the junior podium but comparable to the elite podiums.