Courtesy of Epic Ride BC

A competitor launches into a backflip

Crankworx 2005 – Aug. 3-7

Whistler, BC – Perfect weather, incredible courses, and the best mountain bikers in the world led to another epic Crankworx festival for 2005. With huge appreciative crowds the riders did not disappoint. The weekend kicked off with the Jim Beam Air Downhill on Whistler’s famous A-line run. The 4 minute plus course fell victim to Cedric Gracia’s ability to charge down the run packed with jumps berms and smooth speed sections. Second place went to Brian Lopes who showed up this weekend to school the field in all the events he entered.

Following the Air Downhill the Whistler bike park hosted the Nissan biker-cross. Huge berms, jumps and rhythm sections were the order of the day. Brian Lopes was the champion, a great afternoon for him with smooth riding that he is known for. Taking the hole shot in the final Lopes lead the entire race with Cedric Gracia finishing second. The consolation final was a tight race all the way to the finish and was one of the better races I have seen. They may not have been in the final but these guys were pushing it. What was most evident was the level of riding that the junior age classes possessed. Look out because there are some rippers coming up. These kids had the crowd fired up and went for it.

On Saturday the crowd lined the entire slopestyle course ten people deep to witness the field step up and show what is possible on a bike. The riders did not disappoint. This event is insane and possibly the crown jewel of the Crankworx weekend. Whistler Mountain knows how to build mountain bike features. With huge gap dirt jumps, a ten foot curved wall, quarter pipe and a ridiculous teeter-totter option, which had multiple lines to it. Then there is the 60 ft road gap which Darren Berrecloth 360’d…… WHAT THE &%*#. You must see that guy ride. Burly does not describe what that was. The crowd went insane! The course was laid out well and riders used all of the features. It would have been tough to judge as pretty much every run was a winner. If riders didn’t bring at least 1 backflip and 360 into their run it was time to go home. When that much talent shows up to one event it becomes difficult to understand the skill levels as all the riders were putting down insane runs with smooth style and huge air. When all was said and done last years winner Paul Basagliotia pulled it off again with a run filled with technical tricks and huge air. The best part is that he is only 18.

The final day saw the Enduro downhill and Jump Jam. The Enduro starts up on the freight Train run in the Garbonzo area of the bike park. A huge run this course tests skill and endurance for 14 minutes as riders careen down the length of the mountain. Brian Lopes shone again winning his second event of the weekend with Marla Streb taking the women’s title on the 1300 ft vertical course. Last year’s winner, Cedric Garcia fell victim to a flat. The Jump Jam was held at the midstation area with the US’s Cameron McCaul taking the win. A magic carpet lift shuttled riders back up to the top of the course, which is also open to the public during normal operations, serviced the jump area.

In the end the hard work of the Crankworx staff combined with the performance of all of the athletes led to another mind blowing event with something for everyone. Locals like Jen Ashton placed strong results and showed that BC has some of the best riders on the planet. With free live concerts everyday and the latest designs from the industry combined with the competitions if you are into freeride mountain bike or gravity fed racing this is the place to be in August. You will surely see footage of this event in any of the upcoming videos and media was swarming for the week. If you love mountain biking you love Crankworx. See you there next year.

RESULTS

AIR DOWNHILL
 Pro Men
 1 Gracia, Cedric AND 4:15.61
 2 Lopes, Brain USA 4:16.35 0.74
 3 Peat, Steve GBR 4:16.45 0.84
 4 Rennie, Nathan AUS 4:16.73 1.12
 5 Beatty, Jeff CAN 4:20.89 5.28

 Pro Women
 1 Jonnier, Sabrina SUI 4:41.78
 2 Jenn Ashton CAN 4:47.33 5.55
 3 Griffiths, Fionn GBR 4:47.57 5.79
 4 Beerten Anneke NDL 4:47.99 6.21
 5 Buchar, Claire CAN 4:48.33 6.55

 4 Wheelers
 1 Kohut, Stacy CAN 5:26.24
 2 Lindsley, Eric USA 6:26.47 1:00.23
 3 Therien, John CAN 6:50.84 1:24.60
 4 Williamson, Gavin USA 7:05.02 1:38.78

 Amateur Men
 1 Herbert, Mathieu CAN 4:27.76
 2 Whitham, Paul CAN 4:32.24 4.48
 3 Quinn, Nick CAN 4:32.28 4.52
 4 Wittenburg, Darcy CAN 4:33.80 6.04
 5 Pohlmann, Andrew CAN 4:36.58 8.82

 Amateur Women
 1 McQueen, Rebecca CAN 5:01.65
 2 Vaiani, Pascale SUI 5:09.76 8.11
 3 Wittenburg, Courtney CAN 5:11.43 9.78
 4 Parsons, Bethany CAN 5:12.89 11.24
 5 Duffels, Kat CAN 5:17.11 15.46

 Junior Men
 1 Measures, Ross CAN 4:30.41
 2 McSkimming, James CAN 4:31.29 .88
 3 Jaheny, Marcus CAN 4:36.85 6.44
 4 Smith, Steve CAN 4:37.09 6.68
 5 Gulevich, Geoff CAN 4:38.86 8.45

 Junior Women
 1 Gatto, Micayla CAN 5:00.54
 2 Miller, Miranda CAN 5:04.01 3.47
 3 Allouche, Jessica CAN 5:19.57 19.03
 4 Taylor, Krissi CAN 5:35.40 34.86

 Master Men
 1 Walters, Kelly CAN 4:32.92
 2 Anderson, Eric CAN 4:34.64 1.72
 3 Meier, Phil SUI 4:42.59 9.67
 4 McNeil, James USA 4:46.48 13.56
 5 Buck, Sean CAN 4:46.55 13.63

NISSAN BIKER X
 Rk Plate Name Nation Sponsor
 Pro Men
 1 9 LOPES Brian USA GT/Oakley
 2 1 GRACIA Cedric Andorra Cannondale/Oakley/Siemens
 3 17 DE BEVER Bas NLD B1
 4 4 STRAIT Kyle USA Specialized, Oakley, Red Bull
 5 19 HANNAH Michael AUS Team Haro
 6 3 PEAT Steve GBR Orange
 7 79 MCCREA Tyson CAN
 8 68 ATKINSON Bryn AUS GT

 Pro Women
 1 118 KINTNER Jill USA Yeti
 2 108 BEERTEN Anneke NLD
 3 109 GRIFFITHS Fionn GBR Norco
 4 116 ASHTON Jennifer CAN Rocky Mountain, Fanatyk Co

 4 Wheelers
 1 347 KOHUT Stacy CAN
 2 348 THERIEN John CAN
 3 349 LINDSLEY Eric USA
 4 350 WILLIAMSON Gavin USA

 Amateur Men
 1 55 NEWMAN Ryan CAN
 2 284 GUAY Kyle CAN
 3 251 MCCAUL Cameron USA
 4 262 MCCONOGHY Matt CAN
 5 207 FOWLER J Clinton USA
 6 250 KINGMAN Dustin USA
 7 249 FIFE Kevin CAN
 8 244 DOERKSEN Greg CAN

 Junior Men
 1 272 TOLAND Josh USA
 2 264 MCCONOGHY Adam CAN
 3 285 MCSKIMMING James CAN
 4 383 CHO Andrew CAN
 5 260 MCCAUL Tyler USA
 6 318 BUDD Devon CAN
 7 294 STACHENFELD Amado USA
 8 337 GUSTIN Sky CAN

 Master Men
 1 189 MATUAL Scott USA
 2 163 BOUCHER Steve CAN
 3 167 PATTERSON Matt USA
 4 193 HAMMOND Mike USA

SLOPESTYLE TOP FIVE
 Rank Plate Name Country Best Run
 1 1 Paul Basagoitia USA 37.0
 2 8 Darren Berrecloth CAD 36.2
 3 19 Cameron Zink USA 34.5
 4 4 Cameron McCaul USA 34.4
 5 3 Kyle Strait USA 33.6

KONA JUMP JAM RANKINGS
 1 Cameron McCaul Aptos, CA
 2 Ben Boyko Vancouver, BC
 3 Trond Hanson Norway
 4 John Jesme Cota de Caza, CA
 5 Nate Adams Boulder, CO

Garbanzo Enduro Downhill
Timed Results
 Pro Men
 1 9 LOPES Brian USA San Clemente CA 14:31.67
 2 3 PEAT Steve GBR Sheffield 14:32.50
 3 2 RENNIE Nathan AUS Bend OR 14:33.15
 4 7 KOVARIK Chris AUS Goldcoast QLD 14:35.66
 5 10 MORLAND Tyler CAN Whistler BC 14:36.36

Pro Women
 1 104 STREB Marla USA Los Osos CA 16:03.12
 2 109 GRIFFITHS Fionn GBR Shrewsbury 16:40.19
 3 110 MYLAK Lisa USA Boulder CO 17:25.47
 4 114 BUCHAR Claire Whistler BC 17:25.58
 5 13 MCIVOR Ashley CAN Whistler BC 17:51.95

Master Men
 1 180 MEIER Phil 16:05.72
 2 135 COWERN T.J. USA Moab Utah 16:17.40
 3 157 MEARS Kyle USA Moab UT 16:27.76
 4 160 DAVID Jerome CAN Whistler BC 16:32.44
 5 153 MCNEIL James USA Huntington Beach Ca 16:33.26

Master Women
 1 149 RUMPF Christiane GER Kassel 19:31.03
 2 148 DREWSEN Bodil CAN Whistler BC 22:10.34
 3 150 TURTURRO Francesca USA Yonkers NY 26:20.74

Junior Men
 1 272 TOLAND Josh USA Santa Cruz CA 15:31.32
 2 302 WILSON Shawn USA Santa Cruz CA 15:44.05
 3 275 SALISBURY Kyle USA Bellingham WA 16:37.88
 4 345 ALLISON Tyler CAN Whistler BC 16:40.64
 5 385 DENT Nick CAN North Vancouver BC 16:46.33

Junior Women
 1 142 GATTO Micayla CAN West Vancouver BC 17:52.35
 2 141 MILLER Miranda CAN Garibaldi Highlands BC 20:05.87

Amateur Men
 1 246 WEST Mark James GBR Worcester 15:55.38
 2 91 ASTLEY Martin GBR Bristol 16:01.21
 3 95 HEY Tom GBR York 16:07.65
 4 247 REAGH Adrian CAN Kelowna BC 16:10.51
 5 227 ERIKSEN Erik USA Santa Cruz CA 16:23.08

Amateur Women
 1 126 PAQUETTE Fanny CAN Whistler BC 18:57.