Joey Gough's Crankworx Debut - Video

I was asked that a lot last week. Not only was it my first Crankworx, but my first time in Whistler. Some people found this surprising, but despite dabbling in 4X in the past, it's only been the last couple of years in which Mountain bikes have really captured my imagination, before that, I was always a BMX rider first and foremost, both of racing and trails. Whistler definitely started to appear on my radar and Crankworx also started to linger on my horizon as something I should experience at least once. It was only a month before Crankworx was due to begin when GT asked if I would like to go. They must have read my mind!

I met up with my UK friends, Suzanne and Ryan who are in their second season in Whistler. Like me, Suzanne, loves to ride flow and jumps, so she took me straight to Dirt Merchant. We had both signed up for Air DH, so Suze showed me the way down A-Line too. It was cool to finally ride the trails I'd seen and heard so much about. A-Line was rougher than I was expecting, but I guess two months with no rain will do that. I bumped into another UK friend of mine, Joe, within a few hours of arriving. He was also racing Air DH but was missing a drivetrain from his bike. He wasn't going to let that stand in his way though, it just made for an interesting start technique!


All I was missing was a guide for Crabapple hits, so I headed that way to have a look and hoped I'd stumble across someone I could follow. I jumped the first two on my own to get my eye in but didn't fancy guessing the speed for the bigger sets. It seemed quite hard to judge when you've barely seen anyone ride them and the consequences of getting it wrong with no one around weren't appealing. I was in luck though, as I pushed back up and found a Euro train coming through. They were more than happy for me to follow so I jumped in behind them. The speed was a lot slower than imagined, but as I hit the third set it seemed just perfect. There was a bit of a headwind and the big set lip looked like a wall in front of me, I felt clueless as to how far away the landing was going to be. Still, this might be my only chance, so I hit it anyway. I rode it a bit conservatively and came up a little short, but I survived!

The events started to kick off. First up for me was the Air DH, I've only ever done a handful of DH races in my life, but they've all been pretty short. Air DH might be a flow track, but trying to ride flat-out for four minutes is pretty alien to me! I finished up 16th, I'll take that.

With my BMX experience, I was obviously quite keen for the pumptrack event. I had planned to borrow a GT La Bomba from the team, but the shipment of bikes had been held up. Luckily, Sam, the mechanic lent me his own personal La Bomba, just in time for first practice. It took a little getting used to, different geometry to my GT Ruckus and much wider bars, but he's British so at least the rear brake was on the left. I reckon I must have turned the cranks at least five times during first practice, forgetting I had no chain! I had a decent qualifying run which put me in sixth place and qualified for the finals later that evening.


The main reason I wanted to hit Crabapple was so I could take part in the Whip Off. When I was growing up racing BMX, I felt like the only girl who jumped everything I could because it was fun, I even entered the jumping competitions with the boys. The other girls only ever seemed interested in jumping if it could help them win. To see so many women signing up for an event on a set of huge jumps, sending it and having a blast was so awesome, I totally wanted to be involved!

I can whip my dirt jump bike pretty good down at the trails, but my technique of throwing the bars around doesn't really work so well on a downhill bike. I'd give it a go though, I wasn't too bothered about the competition side of things anyway. The crew had worked on the line since the other day and it was riding like a dream, despite the wind being just as bad, if not worse. As I was pushing back up, a Dad who was watching with his daughter stopped me to say how stoked they were on my riding. It's a good feeling to have inspired someone else! All the women who were out there shredding are inspirational and an important part of the progression of women's mountain biking. I can't wait to see how many women will be sending it in the Whip-Off in five years time.


A bit tired from all the pushing up, it was back to the pumptrack for the finals. A good crowd was starting to build as the sun dipped below the mountains. Sixth in qualifying meant the first round would be tough, drawn against the third place qualifier. I'd missed a gate in practice so when it came to racing I wasn't feeling as fast as I had, just trying to make sure I got the line right. After the second run, I thought I was out, but my opponent had made the same mistake I had in practice, missing a gate and therefore being disqualified. I felt lucky, but that's part of the game I guess.

I may have been given a second chance, but it was a slim one as I was facing the Queen of Crankworx, Jill Kitner in the semi-final. I kept up for the first half of the track but Jill hit the turbo button on the rollers and smoked me to the finish. The lady at the finish asked how to pronounce my name. "Goff," I said, "but don't worry, you're not the only one to get it wrong". Joey Go has been my European race name for years!


One last race, a chance at a bronze medal. I was up against fifth qualifier, Jordy Scott, who had knocked out the fourth fastest qualifier so we were both there against the odds. We both come from a BMX background, we're both at our first Crankworx and both have a love for jumping and just having fun on our bikes. The only difference is twenty years between us! It was pretty close racing but I was getting into the flow of things now and just managed to snatch the bronze medal winning both races. I was miles from the UK but the congratulations and hi-fives from team GT, Sombrio, my friend Joe, and all the kids in the crowd made me feel right at home. A camera appears in my face and the presenter asks, "Will we see you at Crankworx next year?"

Thanks to all at GT UK and USA for making it happen. As well as Joe, Suze and Ryan for showing me around. It was a blast!

---

MENTIONS: @bikesarebikes

---

Posted In:
Videos Crankworx Joey Gough