Steve Smith Takes the Triple Crown Win At Crankworx Whistler With Victory At The 2012 Jeep Canadian Open DH
Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 8:40PM Casey Brown Fastest Women – Brown and Smith Earn Queen & King Of Crankworx Titles
WHISTLER, BC August 19, 2012 –The Jeep Canadian Open Downhill was a rowdy affair today with an exhausting and technical descent that included running the gauntlet at Heckler’s Rock. With a time of 2:44.80 Steve Smith (CAD) was untouchable once again at Crankworx Whistler, crushing his competition and finishing almost five seconds faster than second place racer Mick Hannah (AUS) +4.64. Andrew Neethling (RSA) finished third fastest with +5.61.
With this win Steve Smith takes the triple-crown; winning first place in every DH event at Crankworx Whistler. Today’s victory at the Jeep Canadian Open DH is particularly sweet as he earns $10,000; the largest prize purse awarded at any DH race in the world. It is apparent Smith is on another level of racing and he is going into the seventh and final round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup DH in Hafjell Norway as a favourite to win.
The women’s podium was a sweep for Canadians with the fastest woman Casey Brown (CAD) coming in way ahead with a time of 3:15.28. Next up was Claire Buchar (CAD) at +9.81 and Lauren Rosser (CAD) +10.44.
With these wins, Smith and Brown also earned enough points to take the overall King and Queen of Crankworx titles. Local Whistler boy Jack Illes was awarded the Prince of Crankworx title for his outstanding performance in the Boys (13-16) category.
Coverage of the Jeep Canadian Open DH was phenomenal and included seven wired cameras on the ground, two cable cams and one helicopter camera, ensuring those watching the live webcast at home had front row seats. Some of the most entertaining footage came from Heckler’s Rock where hundreds of shirtless men (and some women) started to gather around 9am today.
The Jeep Canadian Open DH was the last event of Crankworx Whistler 2012. This year the festival enjoyed record-breaking crowds the entire ten days, as well as huge uptake on live webcast coverage powered by Red Bull Media House. Replays of the events live webcasted can be found at www.redbull.com/bike. Crankworx 2012 is a wrap, stay tuned for news about Crankworx 2013 dates for Les 2 Alpes in July and Whistler in August.
Current event photography: www.flickr.com/photos/crankworx/
Videos of the Day by Pinkbike and Vimeo: vimeo.com/crankworx
The webcasts, powered by Red Bull Media House, were live streamed at www.crankworx.com, www.redbull.com/bike and by online media partner www.pinkbike.com. Replays are now available at www.redbull.com/bike.
Troy Brosnan and Melissa Buhl Win The 2012 Giant Dual Slalom
Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 7:12AM Luca Shaw and Micayla Gatto Finish With Silver
WHISTLER, BC August 17, 2012 – GIANT Dual Slalom Pro Men’s final went down in the Whistler Bike Park. Troy Brosnan was able to blaze through each ladder, consistently pinning it each heat to take gold over Luca Shaw in the finals. Melissa Buhl took gold in the Pro Women category with clean runs through each ladder, winning her first ever Crankworx event.
“It feels amazing, I’m coming back trying to have fun and get in a little training before Worlds,” said Troy Brosnan, winner of GIANT Dual Slalom. “It was a good night. The crowd was pretty big and that helped.”
In the Pro Men category Troy Brosnan (AUS) took first place, Luca Shaw (USA) came in second and Bas Van Steenbergen (CAN) finished in third.
Troy’s GIANT Dual Slalom win was fresh off of a second place finish in Thursday night’s Ultimate Pump Track Challenge. In both events Troy made it to finals, racing in every heat of each competition.
In the Pro Women category Melissa Buhl (USA) took first place, Micayla Gatto (CAN) came in second and Steffi Marth (GER) finished in third.
“It’s been a long week with a lot of events, so I feel really good about this win,” say Pro Women winner Melissa Buhl. “This is my first win at Crankworx and I couldn’t be happier.”
Now in its sixth season at Crankworx Whistler, the GIANT Dual Slalom is a crowd favourite. Thousands of fans lined the gated course and watched from the big screen in Whistler Village. The dual slalom head-to-head format featured riders in the pro and amateur categories pumping through a course riddled with rhythm sections, a mogul field, tight berms, jumps and drops.
Tomorrow’s action includes the most anticipated event at Crankworx Whistler, the Red Bull Joyride getting underway from 5:30-7:30pm. Both events will be live webcast at www.crankworx.com.
The village-wide expo and demo zone will also be hopping so make sure to check out the Jeep® Rocks and Roads course where visitors will be able to experience the vehicle's unparalleled capabilities while manipulating obstacles that demonstrate the wild ride that only Jeep® can deliver. The course and on-road test drive includes a stability ramp, a boulder crawl, a log pile and a 16-foot dirt mountain to demonstrate traction. The test drive area will run until August 19, 2012.
Current event photography: www.flickr.com/photos/crankworx/
4X, Bicycle, Downhill Racing, Dual Slalom |
Aaron Gwin SIgns Multi-Year Deal WIth Trek
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 6:25AM 
After two incredible seasons where the history books in Men's Downhill racing have been re-written several times, UCI World Number 1, Aaron Gwin (USA) has just confirmed his recent re-signing with Trek World Racing for the next 3 years. The announcement made last night in the US during the annual Trek World show in Waterloo, Wisconsin which Aaron as attending.
The young American has scored some pretty impressive achievements since climbing aboard the Trek Session, and it's obviously a winning competition that the 2 time World cup Champion wants to see continue.
"I'm honored to continue my rela tionship with Trek Bicycles, and the Trek World Racing program. Their support has been a key part of my success over the last 2 years, and they’ve given me all the tools I need to reach my goals. I'm excited for the years ahead, and looking forward to further developing the Trek Bicycles brand."
A goal that still remains for Aaron this year will be his attempt at winning the UCI World Downhill Championships in Leogang (AUT), a venue that has brought him World Cup success in the past. Then he'll head to Norway to collect the World Cup trophy and try and put in another win for the season.
Team Director Martin Whiteley says – "Obviously we're thrilled to know we have Aaron back with us for a long period of time. He's a consummate professional to work with and a great inspiration to his team mates. His confidence in our staff and support means a great deal to us and we'll do all we can to support him in achieving his goals over the coming years".
Stats: - In the past 2 seasons with Trek World Racing, Aaron has won 9 of the 13 World Cup Downhill events; achieved 100% World Cup podium results, and won two World Cup overall titles. He is the first rider in the history of the sport to win 5 World Cup races in a season (2011), the first to win 4 World Cup races consecutively (2012), and the first American male ever to win the World Cup Downhill Overall title.
