OK, so it might sound a little cliche, but the dirt really has been flying over the last few days as Kokanee Crankworx hits Whistler, B.C from August 8-16, 2009.
Day 1 on August 8 started off with a crowd favourite, the Dual Slalom. Riders faced off on a pristine side-by-side slalom track filled with berms, jumps and rollers. Spectators lined the sidelines of the course, which is located a couple minutes walk from the base of Whistler Mountain. Dust was flying from the wind just as much as t was from the whirlwind of riders charging the course.
In the end, Kyle Strait took the title, upsetting the competition favourite, Brian Lopes. Strait, known as a freestyler, has definitely proven his all-round talent. In the women’s pro category, Jill Kinter clenched first place.
After the awards were handed out, the Block Party kicked off the event. A fair number of people gathered in Skiers’ Plaza to watch the premiere of “Kranked Revolve” by Radical Films on the outdoor screen. The movie was also on a live feed inside the GLC, where the Red Bull sand pails were circulating the bar, and the Pull Tab girls had everyone worked into a free t-shirt frenzy. So, I hate to admit it but I was one of the freebie seekers. $5-worth of pull tabs and I got a free (and very cool) Get Crank’d t-shirt and entered to win a sweet DH bike (draw on Aug. 16.)
And end of night poutine capped off Saturday night as I prepared for Sunday’s Monster Energy Garbanzo DH. Crankworx is really just getting heated up and there’s nothing better than an adrenaline-fueled event filled with top pros and hometown heroes. The Monster Energy Garbanzo DH attracted a record crowd today as competitors bombed down a difficult course of 3,400 vertical feet.
Kiwi Justin Leov stole the top spot for the pro men while Miranda Miller won first place for the ladies. Whistler and B.C. favourites were out in full force, including a former colleague Tristan Merrick, who is now hitting the downhill scene with a vengeance.
Full competition results are available on crankworx.com Also, check out the CrankedWordz liveblog that we are producing every day for Crankworx.
As the week progresses, expect the events and to ramp up. I’ll be hitting a Women’s Night tomorrow, the Garbanzo Bike and Bean party at the GLC on Tuesday, the Saint Deep Summer Photo Challenge on Wednesday (tickets are still available at Guest Relations), and hopefully a Monster Party or two.
Ah, so much to do and so little time, thankfully they are giving away free Monster.
