10/11/2008

Crankworx Slopestyle '07 A candid, behind-the-scenes look with a digi-cam. Story & Photos by Dave Tolnai

Watching the Crankworx slopestyle from the plaza in the village is for tourists and industry hobnobbers. Sure, you can see everything on the Gap-o-tron, but it's hard to get a feel for what's really going on. In my opinion, things are made or broken on the giant step down road gap to booter near the top of the course. This combo is so nasty and there's so much going on in the general vicinity, it's the ideal place to watch things unfold.

So close you can taste it. Gulevich heads for the pansy line.

I somehow found myself with complete access to the course and riders and figured I'd unleash the power of the digi-cam, make a mockery of the journalistic process and justify my intrusion by telling you all about it. It was actually kind of humourous to be wandering around, snapping photos with my peashooter while everybody shot their loads with their male inadequacy cameras. I set my little guy to full auto and never looked back.

The Brodown

Wade hands down his wisdom to Gulevich.

I was happy to see that most of the riders haven't really bought into the whole "contest" nature of the slopestyle. People were a bit tight-lipped on the specifics of their runs, but everybody was more than willing to point out a line and cheer on their fellow competitors. The riders erupted whenever somebody rolled out of something ridiculous. It definitely changed my feelings about some of these guys.

Strait, Semenuk, McCaul and Vanderham watch on.

Rise of the Groms
Kyle McDonald. Alex Pro. Ian Nelson. Brandon Semenuk. What the hell? Four local kids that make me not want to ride my bike any more. I mean, we all knew they were good. But I think this contest showed just how good they are and just how much Whistler is pushing our sport right now. Ah…Well…I guess Gulevich counts too.

Whistler cheers on in it's own special way.

Kyle McDonald in particular. What a rad little dude. What a funny, approachable, happy kid. He looks like he should be in a Life cereal commercial. It makes it all the more shocking to watch him ride his bike. Once the hormones kick in, this kid will be unstoppable.

How can't you like this little dude?

The Backflip
Flipping either the step-down or the gap after it seemed to be the thing to do. Ya, Boyko was a bit of an anomaly, throwing a fairly ridiculous tailwhip off the booter gap. And Berrecloth showed why nobody was trying 360's off the step-down. But everybody else seemed to be flipping.

McCaul's Backflip - It won't win Moneyshot, but this was the best backflip the digi-cam managed to capture.

I spent a good chunk of time standing on the lip of the step-down. I can imagine it takes a fair amount of determination to pedal towards this thing and launch a backflip. The look on the faces of the riders as they rolled in was incredible; Usually a heaping tablespoon of focus with a pinch of fear mixed in. Something to think about the next time you're backing away from the local "10 footer".

The Kokanee Girls
Most of the time, when you come across a girl wearing a skin tight, silver lamé wrestling suit on behalf of a beer company, interesting conversation and skills on a bike aren't what you would expect. Lucky for us, Kokanee needed girls that can actually ride for their promotional stunt. They didn't seem terribly excited about their uniform, but added some much needed street cred and removed a lot of the hoochie factor associated with the Kokanee Girl profession. Maybe next year they'll be allowed to design their own outfits. Don't worry girls, you looked fine.

Katrina Strand covers up.

Not All Was Happy in Slopestyle Land
I really cannot understand the format of this contest. People were filtering out long before things ended. Photographers weren't too happy about the disappearing light. Three-and-a-half hours is way too long a time to stand around on a big dirt hill. What is the point of having 20 riders complete two runs, knocking 8 people out of the competition and then starting all over again? The first "Final" is rendered impotent as the front-runners only ride at half-throttle. Worse is that if they're in a position to qualify, they generally don't even take their second run. And what the hell is a "Super Final" anyway? I can't really see what is accomplished by splitting this competition in two and the whole "Super Final" should just go away. Why don't the 20 riders brought through to Saturday just compete in a best of two runs competition? Plus, you have all day to get ready, start on time.

Do all these people look like they'll be comfortable for three-and-a-half hours?

Next. Tara Teigan. Tara Teigan is my nemesis. Tara Teigan is the worst thing to happen to mountain biking since Ernie Crist. I'm sure she's a nice girl, and she'd probably make an amazing weatherperson, but she shouldn't be announcing mountain bike contests. Her voice makes me want to stab myself in the face. I'd rather listen to a tone deaf children's choir sing a three-and-a-half hour medley of 90's boy band songs than listen to Tara Teigan hack her way through another Crankworx. Send her back to snowboarding. They created her, let them deal with her.

So, there you go. My take on Crankworx. Hopefully next year they'll knock an hour or two off the running time and a laryngitis epidemic will cripple the Teigan household. I'll become the events most vocal supporter if this happens.

- Dave Tolnai

Have something to say? Add your comments here.