Video: Official Crankworx Whistler Garbanzo DH recap
(Password protected)
Video by: Karl Heldt, Matt, Miles, Harrison Mendel, and Scott Secco
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 For some of the earlier riders in the pro class, things didn't always go as planned. One minute out of the start, this guy got a little more sideways than he bargained for. |
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| BC legend Steve Smith layin it down with some authority in the Garbo DH as he rolls a slab on "In Deep". A dry, fast course helped Smith came home with a time of 12:33.27. |
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| This is Justin Leov's last year of World Cup racing before he retires. Hopefully, we'll see Jusso come back for a shredding good time here in Whistler next year. Pulling down fourth place today shows he's still got it. |
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| Ben Reid given' er! Reid only just arrived yesterday. With almost no time to pre-ride the track, Reidy was still able to pull down tenth place in the Garbo DH. |
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| Jack Reading riding for... Ellsworth? Kinda looks like a Trek to me. Says "Trek" on the downtube, too. Jack, where's your Ellsworth? Doesn't matter, really; what matters is Jack Reading pulling in sixth place today, 25 seconds down on Steve Smith. |
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| It's a jungle up in the alpine! The track for Garbo this year is blown out, dusty and grown in. It makes for a wild ride down from the top... if you can see between the max heart rate and the dust. |
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| Fourteenth place racer Edward Masters of New Zealand pumping and gunning midway down the Garbo DH. |
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| Mario Jarrin is a long way from home... Ambato, Ecuador is the place he calls home. |
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| Marcello Guttierez made the long trip up from Colombia without the rest of the Bridgade, and walked away with a second place for his efforts. |
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| Karver was in full effect. This is home territory for Kovarik now, and he was going to fight hard to take home the win. 3rd to the big man. |
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| The name's Beer... Matthew Beer... Seems as if Nick Beer of Devinci has a rival for best last name in DH racing. |
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| Curtis Keene laying it on good for the King of Crankworx award: seventh today in the Garbo DH, but second in the Enduro yesterday. Not too shabby for the 'Merican Dream so far during this Crankworx. |
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| Whistler Bike Park is hard on bikes... Debris spotted midway through the Garbo DH... |
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| Interesting line choice. Most people chose to straight line the gully. This guy decided it was be a good idea to go over all 3 of the biggest rocks on track, while adding a corner... |
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| View of the uphill section from behind. |
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| One thing most people don't realize is that the Garbo DH ain't all downhill. The Original Sin segment has a bit of an uphill to it. Meaning that as a racer, you have to f-g PIN IT to get up and over the hump without having to run your bike over the top. It happens maybe 30 seconds into your run, but you're already so red lined that running your bike at this stage is like breathing broken glass. |
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| Garbo is where all the excuses come out from athletes. My max heart rate, the dust, the partying... Look now. What was your excuse again? |
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| Emmeline Ragot has had an epic season so far: Highs (wins!) Lows (rag dolling at Windham). But when you come to Crankworx, you leave all that behind. You race, but Crankworx is about celebrating big bike riding at one of the best places to ride a bike in the world. If the racing's not going well, you can take a lap on your favorite trail and forget about the shit run you just had. Yesterday the enduro racing was not happening for Ragot. But today? Even with a bum shoulder, she reeled in a fourth place in the Garbo DH. |
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| Claire Buchar is spending a lot of time down under these days--being "Mrs Kovarik" will do that--and unfortunately, it showed, as the Whistler local appears to have lost a few steps compared to full time locals Casey Brown and Miranda Miller, who both eclipsed Buchar's time of 14:32 even. |
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| Second place in the Garbanzo DH will likely give Miranda Miller a shot of confidence heading into the Canadian Open this next weekend. |
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| Pom Pom is enjoying her time in Whistler. Taking fifth in the Garbo DH was a bit of icing on the cake. Ya gotta wonder how she's gonna do in the Canadian Open coming up next week. |
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| Steve Smith, this year's local hero and Garbo champ. |
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| About that dust... luckily 1 minute gaps meant most of it settled before the next rider. Good luck if you caught someone though... |
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POD, POM & POY right there.. This guy gave it all I called him across the line, he collapsed with exhaustion and was laid on his back grabbing a well deserved breather. Only then did the ball drop and I realised what had just happened, i'm not often speach less I can tell you that for sure.
Whistler Crankworx is the place of legends and for me this guy will be my hero for a very, very long time..
www.pinkbike.com/photo/list/?date=all&text=almarza
AWESOME song, with good mix of some real audio with the crowd and tires = perfect
Anyone know the song btw??