Crankworx – Rotorua – Bikes in the Pits

We found a few bikes lurking in the pits looking pretty tasty. The winner himself, Loic Bruni, has his bike being displayed by his mechanic.

We were walking around the pits at Crankworx Rotorua and couldn’t help notice all the eye candy so we shot a few pics for you guys. Don’t drool on the screen now….

A close up of Loic's bike, these bike will actually have extra (orange) stickers on them at World Cups but they didn't have them all yet for Crankworx so the team went without! — A close up of Loic’s bike, these bike will actually have extra (orange) stickers on them at World Cups but they didn’t have them all yet for Crankworx so the team went without!

George Brannigan throws horns while he show's his Trek. These bikes have been evolved over plenty of seasons now and are a reliable platform for sure. — George Brannigan throws horns while he show’s his Trek. These bikes have been evolved over plenty of seasons now and are a reliable platform for sure.

Bernard Kerr rocking his black Pivot Phoenix, these bikes are at the lighter end of the scale but as Bernard (& Jackson Elliot) have proven they can still take a beating.

This YT Tues CF was spotted at the DayZero Bike stand and we are quite excited these bikes are now available in Australia. We catted with the guys and got a low down on the bike.

At a retail of $6,099 AUD these bikes represent fantastic value considering the quality and specifications.

The carbon version we are looking at here actually has different frame specifications than the alloy model. These are for high level riders/racers, beginners are better off buying an alloy version as they will be bale to perform on them better.

You can wipe the drool of the screen now!

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April 4, 2015

Crankworx a�� Rotorua – Downhill Finals

Downhill finals and that's always a good time! — Downhill finals and that’s always a good time!

Surprisingly Friday was race day for the downhill! So today the crowds poured over the hill as riders negotiated one of the best downhill tracks going around. The great thing about Crankworx is that if you can’t make it yourself you can watch the live feed, coverage of the downhill was really well done, hats off to the organisers.

There were a lot of spectators on the hill today, creating a lot of noise for the riders. Can you spot the rider?

Here are some observations from today; the Kiwis didn’t dominate as some were predicting, team Polygon UR were unlucky with both Pro Male riders flatting, Eliot Jackson could be having his best World Cup season to date if today was anything to go by, A�Greg Minnaar did some serious damage to his hand and is unlikely to race the first World Cup, Connor Fearon rode a different bike for today only and still managed 5th!

Results as per below:

Pro Womena��s Results:

1. Rachel ATHERTON A� A�3:22.10

2. Tracey HANNAH A� A� A� A� 3:22.84

3. Emilie SIEGENTHALERA�A�A� 3:33.46

Pro Mena��s Results

1. Loic BRUNIA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� 2:50.60

2. Eliot JACKSON A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� 2:53.16

3. Sam BLENKINSOP A� A� A� A� A� A� A� A� 2:53.23

Junior Men’s Results

1. Jack HUMPHRIES 3:07.52 2. 70

2. Max WARSHAWSKY 3:09.62 +2.10

3. Jack FISHER 3:09.74 +2.22

Remy Morton crashed but still managed to get into the top 4.

Second for Max 'War Hawk' Warshawsky, even with a crash evident on his kit. — Second for Max ‘War Hawk’ Warshawsky, even with a crash evident on his kit.

Emilie Siegenthaler was 3rd aboard her new Pivot.

Tracey Hannah was happy as always, with a second place why wouldn't you be! — Tracey Hannah was happy as always, with a second place why wouldn’t you be!

Rachel Atherton charged home to take the win.

Flats for Andrew Neethling and Mic Hannah was unfortunate.

Wyn Masters was eager to impress on home soil, he ended up 13th.

David McMillan collected some bunting as a souvenir during his race run...he looked stylish as usual doing so. — David McMillan collected some bunting as a souvenir during his race run…he looked stylish as usual doing so.

24th for Dean Lucas, first major ride on his new bike!

9th for Gee Atherton in the World Champion stripes.

Sam Blenkinsop got 3rd and a spot on WynTV!

Loic Bruni rode exceptionally to take the win, his first World Cup win can't be far away surely?! — Loic Bruni rode exceptionally to take the win, his first World Cup win can’t be far away surely?!

A real gentleman to is the young Frenchman.

Riders were getting swamped by the crowd!

More action to come soon.

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March 27, 2015

Crankworx – Rotorua – Everything else!

Today was a slower day on the downhill front, timed practice was the main event in that space. Interestingly enough rain did fall during this practice which was the first time it has really rained here this week. That said the thick forest kept most of the ground in there dry, other sections, such as the open grassed areas were another kettle of fish! A few riders had off the bike excursions and some riders, such as Gee Atherton, crashed into or avoiding other riders.

Timed practice today was the main downhill event today, it wasn't seeding or qualifying just an indication for riders if they wanted to see their times. — Timed practice today was the main downhill event today, it wasn’t seeding or qualifying just an indication for riders if they wanted to see their times.

There were other events held today, in no particular order Speed and Style, Pump Track Challenge and Slopestyle practice.

Speed and Style results:

1. Martin SODERSTROM (SWE)

2. Adrien LORON (FRA)

3. Bernard KERR (GBR)

Speed and Style sees two riders pitted against each other on a dual slalom like course for two runs. A trick over the jump equals time being taken off their total time. The lowest combined time over the 2 runs is the winner.

Eeeekkk! A few riders put their front wheel over the top of this berm today.

Watch out! Ty Bowmaker from Captyvate Media had to move his gear pretty quickly when this rider went skew-if!

The speed and style course, just as most trails around here, was immaculately groomed.

They start them young around these parts... — They start them young around these parts…

Shredding the corners up near the top of the course.

The berms on the pump track were well groomed, so much so they had a mulch blower on it to dry and clear it.

There was some congestion on the trail when the rain came to the downhill.

The clouds have looked ominous all week, today they opened up and it rained.

The slopestyle is always a crowd pleaser.

The slopestyle course has been hailed by the riders as one of the best courses ever!

The slopestyle guys seem in their element despite the enormity of the jumps they are doing.

Even the downhill jumps are on the large size!

Tomorrow is the finals for the downhill so check back soon for that.

Images: Downhill247/Jaime BlackA�/A�www.jaimeblack.com.au

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March 26, 2015

Crankworx – Rotorua – Track walk/Practice

Welcome to sunny Rotorua! It did get sunny we promise!

Day 1 here in Rotorua for Crankworx and the morning started with a track walk, this was held under dark cloud and with light rain falling. We have put our track walk up on both Instagram and Facebook, it is a track walk in 15 seconds! To go into some detail though, the top part of the track was very similar to the 2006 World Championships track, in a wide open field with some big jumps. Riders then came into the top forest section, here there are a range of drops, chutes and off cambers turns they have to deal with (not to mention changing light and track conditions). The bottom section of the track has some man made rock gardens and some rather large jumps! All before a gnarly off camber finish onto a big step up an table top combo. Enjoy a few images from the day.

Make sure you check out our 15 second track walk on either Instagram or Facebook!

Track walks are always a busy time for the riders, finding lines and then putting them on social media!

The ground here is so soft, it will wear all week and the track riders practiced on will be very different to what they race on.

Sam Blenkinsop blurs past, the Kiwis were all looking fast immediately!

The New Zealand National Championships were recently held on this track, no wonder the Kiwis looked miles ahead of everyone else today! George Brannigan takes a very moto like corner, he was the victor here a few weeks ago.

Casey Brown looked like she was getting up to speed quickly, it must help having team mates from New Zealand!

Silver ferns are an iconic part of New Zealand.

Sam HIll won the 2006 World Championships here so is no doubt keen to do well here again.

Remy Morton navigating through the woods.

Loic Bruni flying through the trees, the Lapierre team has been in New Zealand doing some pre season testing so expect them to be on point come race day.

The dirt here is beautiful... hopefully it stays around all week! — The dirt here is beautiful… hopefully it stays around all week!

The jumps here are BIG, Remy Morton having no trouble with this double.

More practice tomorrow fro the downhill and the whip off world championships as well!

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March 24, 2015

Crankworx – Canadian Open

The Canadian Open is the final race on the final day of Crankworx Whistler, it usually attracts many big names of the downhill world. This year was no different with many big names such as Danny Hart and Marcelo Gutierrez and though Steve Smith didn’t race, he was around all week to say hey to his fans.

The track this year was the same as always, with the sun being out for the last few days the track had become very dusty and a little bit loose!A�But no where near as loose as all the people at hecklers rock, who turned on the heckle all race again this year. The track was wide open and fast, with times dropping quickly and speeds going faster and faster, even through the technical sections.

We were so busy clambering down the hill trying to avoid all the hecklers that we got lost in the racing. So when we got to the bottom the results were a surprise to us too.

The results were
1.A�Marcelo Gutierrez
2. Danny Hart
3. Connor Fearon

A special mention also goes to two up and coming junior racers, Remy Morton and Jackson Davis who finished 1st and 3rd respectively in the junior men’s category.

Tune in with Downhill247 for the latest news and photos (and more).
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Photos: Jason Stevens Photography. Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 18, 2014

Crankworx – Joyride

Today is the biggest day of the crankworx festival, the Joyride day, one of mountain bikings largest events, if not the largest one. Part of the FMB world tour and the most prestigious slopestyle competition on the planet. The course has some new bits and some re-designed pieces to suit riders more after their input from last year. From the very start it appeared that riders were comfortable on the course with large airs and big tricks being thrown through the practice sessions. It was shaping up to be quite an event! Even the weather came to town with the sun coming out just in time for the scored runs.

Everyone came out very strong, some pushing perhaps a little too hard, with only two runs to get a good score. Tomas Zejda was possibly the best looking rider to crash out, in the first run with Brandon Semenuk putting down the strongest first run with some huge tricks and looking very solid. With first runs completed everyone got a re-shuffle so the highest scored rider would come down last. This left some big names to come first who had crashed out frst run to come down early, Cam McCaul and Darren Berrecloth were both early to do their second run, but also made further mistakes to the crowds dismay, however continued their runs to put on a show. Before we knew it there were only the top three left to come down. And come down they did! Plenty of style, plenty of huge tricks being thrown. When all the dust settled the podium looking like this:

1st Brandon Semenuk
2nd Brett Heeder
3rd Anthony Messere