It’s the most anticipated MTB event of year and held at the mecca of all things shred. For another year, we descended on the quaint mountain town of Whistler, Canada for the raddest festival of the year. The Muc-Off riders were there in force, alongside our crew, to cover the week’s worth of shredding.
The sun rose on Wednesday morning and with fully stocked shelves, a ton of goody bags and a belly full of poutine, we were ready to tackle the Crankworx crowds! It was the first day of our official Crankworx attendance and also the first day of major competition. The day before saw the ‘Air DH’ on the famous A-Line which gives riders a chance to warm up for the week but is still hotly contested! With a stacked line up, it was literally the who’s who of MTB with riders from every discipline. The stand out moment was the inevitable A-Line steeze train that saw over 20 overs riding tire to tire with whips, scrubs and tricks galore.
We kicked things off on Wednesday with a ride out with Reed Boggs in the morning down A-Line, followed by a signing session with Reed & Tomas Lemoine. There’s nothing better to kick the jet lag than trying to keep up with Reed on the world’s most famous trail! In the afternoon, the Dual Slalom took centre stage and Enduro World Series rider Elliott Heap took his Nukeproof Mega (not your average Dual Slalom bike) and pit it against some off the world’s best. His skills obviously paid off, securing a spot inside the top 10 ahead of some well-rounded Dual Slalom riders.
On Thursday, we gave the reigns of our Instagram to the princess of DH, Tahnee Seagrave. She gave us a great insight into a day in the life in Whistler and also swung by our booth for another signing session alongside her brother Kaos, and Canyon rider Troy Brosnan. You can check out all of coverage over on our Instagram! The afternoon shifted focus up the mountain to Crabapple Hits for the Whip Off World Championships. Kaos took the win at Innsbruck, bit with a packed field wasn’t able to keep his winning streak, despite getting VERY sideways. The evening session focussed on the flood lit Pump Track and eager to get some more points towards his King of Crankworx title was Tomas Lemoine. In a very tight field and
Friday morning started with another ride out on A-Line, this time with MTB legend Geoff Gulevich, followed by a signing session with his fellow Canadian Reece Wallace.
Up on the hill, it was time for another event with the Dual Speed And Style. Much like the slalom, but in this format you need to be fast AND throw in some tricks. Tomas Lemoine, (being the workhorse he is) was in contention after the pump track the night before and was hungry for a good result. Coming up against Mitch Ropelato in the finals and even with a bag of technical tricks, Tomas wasn’t able to dethrone Mitch, but still took 2nd spot overall!
On to Saturday, it was time for the Big Show, faithfully known as the Red Bull Joyride. This was the final stop of the Slopestyle World Championship where everything is put on the line, on some incredibly huge and technical features. As with every year, a fresh course was built in the Whistler Boneyard, that opened up riders to creativity and the potential for some HUGE tricks.
The course proved to be tough to tame for some riders, with a fair few of the world’s top riders going down on course. Even after an actioned packed week, Tomas Lemoine dropped in for his final event of the week. With a few sketchy tricks and a near crash in his second run, it wasn’t to be for Tomas. His consistency over the season still paid off and despite a 9th place finish in Whistler, Tomas took 2nd place overall in the Crankworx Slopestyle World Champs and 3rd place in the King of Crankworx standings.
Even after the spectacle of Joyride, it was time for one final event in the Canadian Air DH. Canyon Factory rider and ‘Mr Consistent’ Troy Brosnan took a consecutive 5th title in this event. His team mates Mark Wallace and Magnus Manson both faired well on the course and all 3 riders finished inside the top 10.
Photos: Mad Dog Boris / Kike Abelleira
