Once again, we were down for Crankworx Rotorua 2017, showing the love and supporting such an epic event in the Mountain biking industry. Each year the bike festival grows and this was one for the books, despite the temperamental weather, the event could not have been better! See for yourself.

Giant Toa EWS Enduro 

The week leading into Crankworx Rotorua was scheduled for rain, showers and more rain… Turns out the weather reports were accurate, and in result racers found themselves swapping tyres to keep up with bogs of mud, slippery roots and heckling T-rex’s.

The EWS took place in Rotorua’s Redwood Forest and covered 64kms of terrain over 7 stages. Kiwi athlete Wyn Masters officially lived up to his name Sunday, winning the first major race of Crankworx Rotorua. There were some tough stages and it was messy, rutty and carnage out there, he also managed to steal the top position from his brother Eddy.

Cecile Ravanel thrashed the women’s competition winning all, but one stage, which was stolen by Trek Rider, Katy Winton. I was lucky enough to take Katy’s bike for a spin. I haven’t had much luck in the riding scene over the last 6 month – looks like I’m in the market for a Slash 9.8 (obviously down speed). I’m totally in love!

Men’s Results:

1. Wyn Masters (NZL) New Plymouth                      37:31.72
2. Matt Walker (NZL)  Rotorua                                  37:35.40
3. Eddie Masters (NZL) New Plymouth                    37:37.95

Women’s Results:
1. Cecile Ravanel (FRA)                                         44:36.63
2. Ines Thoma (GER)                                             47:51.65
3. Anita Gehrig (SUI)                                             48:25.26

Wyn Masters

Pump Track Challenge:

The sun came out and Crankworx rolled into action. The weather conditions proved to be challenging to the event managers Tak and Ariki, but the pair did a great job to ensure everyone was safe, the track was dry and the fans got a taste of the action. The Rox Shox Pump Track Challenge was located at the bottom of the banks, right next to the expo area, allowing the crowd to get right next to the trackside. The atmosphere was electric and the talent is amazing! Both the men’s and women’s category had some fierce competition and the battle for 1^st,2^nd,3^rd and 4^th was epic to observe.

Speed, flow and flair wasn’t an issue for Aussie rider Caroline Buchanan who took on the reigning Queen of Crankworx, Jill Kintner in the women’s final and pushed hard to take the win. Local rider Keegan Wright embraced the roaring energy from the crowd and took the win from French superstar Adrien Loron, who slipped up in the last moments of the battle.

Men’s results:
1. Keegan Wright (NZL)
2. Adrien Loron (FRA)
3. Barry Nobles (USA)

Women’s results:
1. Caroline Buchanan (AUS)
2. Jill Kintner (USA)
3. Danielle Beecroft (AUS)

Local boy, Keegan Wright steals the win.

Mons Royale Dual Speed & Style:

The art of Mons Royale’s Speed & Style lies in the rider’s ability to pull off the best tricks on the fastest run down a gravity-fed course, out-witting all opponents by duking it out in pairs to slowly narrow the field. We couldn’t have asked for better weather! The skies were clear, the wind was low and the track was mint (considering the circumstances), making the ideal setting for sick style and slalom battles.

Results:

1. Jakub Vencl (CZE)
2. Adrien Loron (FRA)
3. Mitch Ropelato (USA)

Official Oceania Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK

Moments after the Speed and Style, the Whip-off Championships when into full swing. The rescheduling of the event made the Whip-off an accidental success; there was a huge crowd turnout and the idea of running it under the lights made it a spectacular show of finesse and talent.  The vibe was pumping with 50+ riders continuously dropping in to throw their biggest whip to claim the title. It’s all about the whips, but you can’t complain about the few riders who pulled frontflips, backflips and wheelies to please the frothing crowd. Team Athlete Kieran Bennett had a solid performance and made it into the final round. Nerves were there for a little bit as no one had attempted Mt whip prior to the event, but you wouldn’t even know when he was in the spotlight.

Whip-Off Championships results:

Men:

1. Reed Boggs (USA)

2. Ryan Howard (USA)

3. Tyler McCaul (USA)

Women:

1. Casey Brown (CAN)

2. Katy Curd (GBR)

3.Vinnie Armstrong (NZL)

Casey Brown showing the boys how it’s down in the Whip-Off

Rotorua Downhill presented by iXS

The Downhill presented by iXS is an amazing event to watch. The best way to view the action is to take the Skyline Gondola to the top and walk and slide your way back to the bottom. Only then you’ll have an appreciation of the skill, technical ability and speed that they guys and gals go through! The rain definitely made the downhill a rowdy and terrifying challenge to some of the top-line athletes in the world – when B line is shabby and A line is questionable, you make your own line.  Australians Tracy Hannah and Jack Moir topped both podiums in the pro category.

Pro Men’s Results:

1. Jack Moir (AUS)
2. Mick Hannah (AUS)
3. Elliot Jackson (USA)

Pro Women’s Results:

1. Tracey Hannah (AUS)
2. Emilie Siegenthaler (FRA)
3. Casey Brown (CAN)

Kidsworx:

It’s not all about the bid kids and big flips. Crankworx introduced the idea of Kidworx; a dedicated area just for mini shredders, with free activities and riding though out the day, as well as three completive events for the wild up and comers. It was a great way to keep the whole family entertained and engaged throughout the week. Activities included the Tiki Tour Scavenger hunt which sent kids out into the village on a wild chase, pump track coaching sessions, pimp your bike, tamariki track and the Mini Hipster Downhill Race. It’s pretty special to see how young the kids are and how passionate they are at such a young age!

Slopestyle:

Saturday arvo was one for the books. Slopestyle went down in a memorial fashion for everyone involved. It kicked off at 3:30pm as the slopestyle riders were amping themselves and each other up for the Rotorua event’s biggest showcase. The crowd was building into thousands of spectators pumped up for an event that attracts the world’s best. Before the riders started their competition runs they had a tribute lap in honour of Mcgazza. This was done fittingly by a train of all the riders sending it throughout the course laying out backflips in respect of the man who inspired a lot of them.

The riders then set off for round one of two with 18 riders competing in the event all with a different bag of tricks and there own unique style of riding. The crowd was fired up and exploding into applause when the riders were hitting the final two jumps. This where majority the spectators were posted in an amphitheatre type setting. Nicholi Rogatkin came out charging and scored himself a 95.66 in his first run, which included a triple tailwhip, cash roll, front flip combo and his trademark ‘twister’ on the last jump. This unreal run and score it received end up putting the pressure on the field to step it up. Leading to Crashes, washouts and a few riders putting down massive runs which included Italian Torquato Testa and Sweden’s Emil Johansson who placed 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

Other standouts include first-time participant Nico Scholze throwing a stalled out Superman backflip that had the crowd questioning if he could bring it back, he stomped it. Also well worth a shout out is 38 year old bmx legend Ryan Nyquist putting down a big run and finishing just off the podium in 4^th. Overall the Slopestyle event was unreal to watch and see the riders pushing themselves to their mental and physical limits while encouraging each other to go big.

A Shout out to our Torpedo7 athletes!

Kieran Bennett managed to get a wildcard entry into the EWS, finding his wheels with last minute training. He also competed in the whip off and made his way down the knarly tracks of the IXS Downhill.

Josh Riley slid and rode his way through the EWS Enduro and had a rad time in the amateur downhill race.

Eden Cruise is a force to be reckoned with and also to one to watch in the cross country and enduro scene.

And that’s a wrap for 2017 Rotorua Crankworx, we’re pumped for next year that’s for sure – make sure you save the dates for March 17-25,2018!

AUTHOR

Marie T

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