Over the past ten days Whistler has been a hive of activity playing host to Crankworx 2014. The Whistler event has been on the calender for a good few years now and is one of the most anticipated event of the year. World Cup downhillers, world class slopestyle riders and your regular bike park shredder all flock to Whistler for the ten days of riding, racing and overall fun each year. It’s a chance for everyone to relax and unwind but at the same time shred the massive bike park and try to win a bit of cash. I could do a massive word essay on all the events and a full results list. Or I could show you some sweet videos to round up the whole event.
To start off with we had the Dual Speed & Style, an event that was introduced last year at Crankworx. The event combines a dual slalom course with some bigger features to trick, the winner has to show great speed and technique to actually beat the opponent but to also make it look good: tricks, flips and whips will get you the all important style points.
An all-American top four battled for the Crankworx Whistler podium in both the Small Final and Big Final of the CLIF Bar Dual Speed & Style, with Kyle Strait (USA) eventually coming out on top.
The next big event came in the form of the Garbonzo DH, 7km of gruelling Whistler trail roots, rocks and high speeds. With over 12 minutes of descending at full throttle, the Garbo is not for the weak or faint hearted. Marcelo Gutierrez took the win last year and was the hot favorite coming in to the 2014 event.
Marcelo proved once again he is the Garbonzo DH champion taking the win by over 18 seconds, Claire Buchar took the women’s win by an impressive 17 seconds.
Next up was the Fox Air DH, a true test of a riders’ jumping capabilities. One of the spectator favorites event follows the A-Line track down the mountain.
Jill Kintner and ‘Sick’ Mick Hannah came out on top, both using full DH rigs instead of a shorter travel Enduro bike.
The next event on the schedule takes the riders to the infamous Crabapple hits jumps for the Whip Off World Championships. The whip off grows each year and is now the the fan favorite event for the whole of Crankworx. The timing gear is put away and riders have the chance to prove how sideways they can go on the big Canadian booters.
Finn Iles has been the hot favorite for the event since the #letfinnin campaign started to actually let the youngster compete. After he was given the go ahead he didn’t disappoint and just showed how unbelievable awesome he can be. Casey Brown took away the ladies’ crown; dubbed the most stylish female rider in the sport she didn’t disappoint, throwing the bike sideways in a bikini.
Back to some head to head racing the Rockshox Ultimate Pumptrack Challenge is always a good event and brings together riders from all disciplines.
Four time winner Jill Kintner could not defend her title against Aussie Caroline Buchanan who took the win alongside Barry Nobles.
The next event on the schedule was the Giant Dual Slalom this was the last event of head to head pumping, jumping and speed.
The USA came out on top with Jill Kintner and Mitch Ropelato taking the wins.
And now the big one, the event that really has made Crankworx what it is today. Red Bull Joyride, the FMB world tour stop has been on the calender for years and is the most anticipated even of the tour. Each year the course gets a fresh makeover with unique features to really test all riders and give them the chance to make history. Here we have Brandon Semenuk’s winning run this makes Brandon the most decorated Crankworx athlete ever.
Just your standard cork 720, backflip and whippy tail thing.
The last event on the Crankworx calender and the downhillers favorite the Canadian Open DH. The downhill race that goes on the infamous hecklers’ rock, a giant rock feature that if you stand on you must be shirtless.
Tracey Hannah and Marcelo Gutierrez both take the win at the final event of Crankworx Whistler 2014.
So there you have it ten days of racing, whipping and all round bicycle steeze. I feel a good shralp session coming along after watching all of that and hopefully you do too. To finish on, Crankworx also announced an added event onto the calender next year in Rotorua, New Zealand. We can’t wait for what next year brings and we’re fairly positive it’s going to be awesome.