All eyes were on defending World Cup champion Rachel Atherton heading into the event, as she aims to extend her streak of 13 successive wins on the circuit, a run stretching back to the start of the 2015 season.

The 29-year-old would be forced to settle for second place in qualifying today, but there would still be a British rider heading the standings.

Tahnee Seagrave produced an impressive ride down the course, crossing the line in a time of 3min 28.985sec.

It would prove enough to win the qualification, with world champion Atherton ending 1.334sec off the pace in 3:30.319.

The all British top three was completed by Manon Carpenter, who recorded a time of 3:31.347.

While Britain were dominant in the women’s competition, France were able to celebrate a one-two in men’s qualification.

Loris Vergier topped the standings on 2:52.684, with his compatriot Loic Bruni just 0.422 behind in his run.

The United States’ Luca Shaw was third in 2:53.268, pushing the reigning world champion and last year’s World Cup winner into fourth and fifth place.

Britain’s Danny Hart was just outside the top three in 2:53.329, while the United States’ Aaron Gwin began his title defence by ending in 2:53.992.

Both men will hope to improve on the positions tomorrow when the finals take place in Lourdes, France.