And steeper, don’t forget steeper

And so it is we come to the final day of Crankworx – day nine of nine.

Through a haze of still-drunk slopestyle riders and exhausted groupies emerged the DH racers for one last race, the Canadian Open, traditional festival-ender.

Despite this being the third downhill race of the schedule, great efforts have obviously been made to give each competition its own unique identity. For Garbanzo we had a course that was long, technically challenged, rooty, steep and slippy; the Air DH was fast, with emphasis placed on smooth riding of the numerous A-Line tabletops; this race was loose and dusty but not overly technical – a nice middle ground between the extremes of the others.

Kudos indeed to the Bike Park staff, who cut a brand new line underneath the chairlift and gondola lines, creating a fall-line-esque trail that provided as good a view for the spectator as the riding for the racer. Each run down the hill was accompanied by any number of hoots and hollers from riders returning to the top, bringing a sense of unity to racer and casual rider alike. If Slopestyle is for the public to spectate, this was for everyone that rides a bike.

Results-wise there’s really nothing out of the ordinary to report – Rachel Atherton smoked the entire womens’ field once again, and Sam Hill cruised on down the mountain without ne’er a worry to take first place. Again. You have to feel for the other competitors, desperately hoping that he’ll crash and lose a shoe, as in his Garbanzo run earlier in the week.

Still, I dutifully stuck around till the end, resisting the urge for a frosty pint on the on-hill patio, right ’till the very end of Crankworx 2008. Such professionalism. All-in I’d say it’s been a mixed bag experience; there’s been some fantastic highlights – Slopestyle once again proved its place as a real crowd-drawing spectacle, and the sheer extreme nature of the Garbanzo DH course fascinates me to this day, but other areas seemed to edge closer to the “same ol’ same ol'”, two Dual Slalom events being one of ’em.

Dates have already been set for the 2009 outing. Like it or loath it, Crankworx isn’t going away any time soon.

Fresh new lines, still with pungee-stick roots and branches

Canadian Open DH

Pro Men

1 Sam Hill (Monster Ironhorse)
2 Gee Atherton (Animal Commencal)
3 Chris Kovarik (Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense)

Pro Women

1 Rachel Atherton (Animal Commencal)
2 Tracy Moseley (Team Kona)
3 Katie Holden (Katieholden.com)

Bone dry powdered dirt made up the majority of the course

Straight under the lift line – spectators got the best seats in the house

Chris Kovarik gives it his all to try beat Sam Hill