Cairns, Australia

Next it was down under for round two; Loic Bruni sealed the win for senior men.

Rachel Atherton followed up her win from round 1, something that would become all too familiar as the season progressed.

Leogang, Austria

Back across the channel, and into the Austrian Alps, Leogang Bike Park held round 4.

Last down the hill, the pressure was on Aaron Gwin, to which he handled exceptionally, taking the win and maintaining his lead in the series.

Also adding to her series lead, Atherton took the win again, and was now leading by just under 400 points.

Lenzerheide, Switzerland

Despite being back on Gwin through all the stages, Danny went full risk and just managed to steal the lead off Gwin in the bottom section by a mere -0.096 seconds. His first World Cup win, and certainly not his last.

Atherton would also take a close win, followed by Tahnee Seagrave just 0.707 seconds back.

Vallnord, Andorra

Dry and dusty conditions all week soon took a new turn for men’s finals; however, no amount of rain would prevent Danny taking his 3rd consecutive win, and climbing closer to the overall title.

Over six seconds would separate Rachel from the rest of the field, with Tracey Hannah coming in second, and Myriam Nicole in third.

Val Di Sole, Italy 

Finally, amongst the Dolomite mountains, we were treated to World Champs.

One run would decide who’d take the World Cup overall, and whether Danny would be crowned World Champ for the second time.

Unfortunately for Gwin, a crash secured Danny his spot on the top step, ahead of team mate Laurie Greenland by just under 3 seconds. A third place for Florent Payet made it a full Mondraker podium.

Atherton topped her perfect season with a World Champs win, putting 3 seconds into Pompon, and just over 9 seconds on Tracey Hannah in third.