Nine Days Later...Crankworx 2013

A post apocalyptic scene unfolded on the barren land of the slopestyle course yesterday. The rain was relentless for most of the morning leaving all of Whistler village, riders and fans in limbo, wondering if the show would go on. When the call was finally made spectators began a slow purposeful march up the hill. The weather had let up to a drizzle, the clouds were ominous and a chopper hovered overhead looking for signs of life amongst the zombies. They found it.





The sun shone some biblical light through the clouds and the boys of slopestyle dropped in on one of the best Red Bull Joyride courses yet. The packed crowd uniformly shouted and cheered, sending up a roar all the way down the mountain as trick after trick shocked and amazed. The crowd was collectively quiet during the two course closing crashes that bookended the event, providing only applause when requested in support of the injured athletes.




Big Bad Brad’s voice echoed around the park like the voiceover in an 80’s action movie trailer. It would not have been out of place for Bruce Willis drop off the chair life with machine guns blazing. Instead a naked man sprinted through the crowd in all his glory and a murder of bananas chased a gorilla into the unloving arms of security. All were signs of a world gone mad. A world where only slopestyle mattered and signs like “Dump ‘em Out!” had profound meaning.





A remote cable cam caught the action for big screens placed generously around the hillside. The robotic movements and big lens conjured a feeling of big brother’s watchful eye as it zipped up and down keeping up with the competitors ensuring that we didn’t miss a moment of the action. Inside the double line of fences that were keeping the zombies from becoming road kill were bombed out trenches that rose up into perfectly manicured jumps. Brandon Semenuk described this year’s course as “the best yet” and the features as “a good size but not so big you couldn’t do your best tricks.” Brandon went ahead and won, throwing down an amazing run and setting the bar with the highest score ever recorded at this event.




At the close of the event the crowd slipped down the mountain and descended on the Whistler bars and restaurants in search of Red Bull vodkas, party hats and fresh meat. This morning under the time lapse of fast moving clouds groggy partiers are waking up to the pain and aftermath of their celebratory choices. Serotonin levels have been depleted and there is still work to do. Today, the masses will muster the party that is left in each of us and once again reunited on Heckler’s Rock for the Canadian Open!


#RBJoyride @RedBullCanada

See more from the event on RedBull.com/bike

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