After nearly two days of delays, the winners of Dual Speed and Style were finally decided. Wind and rain have wrecked havoc on the site, effectively shutting down practices and events. Tough on athletes, tough on operations, tough on, well, everything.
Kicking off the day, Speed and Style saw athletes battling the wind, and each other in a bid to take home the gold. Before the day was over, we’d see local fan favorite Robin Goomes knocked out of Crankworx competition with a broken clavicle. (Sending out healing vibes to you Goomes!) We would also see the women giving out performances that made the onlookers proud of where the sport is, and where it is going.
When the dust settled, Harriet Burbidge Smith took the top spot, after Vaea Verbeeck was knocked off balance from gusting winds in the first heat of the gold round. Vaea opted not to run in the second heat. Ronja Hill-Wright rounded out the women’s podium.
On the men’s side, Billy Meaclem rode flawlessly all morning, taking out Tomas Lemoine, who’s tumble in heat one and simply put on a good show for his second run. Fast Bas Van Steenbergen added to his King of Crankworx lead with a 3rd place finish.
Robin Goomes was breaking out some new tricks but unfortunately, with the gusty winds, one of her one-footed flips ended in a broken clavicle. Heal up Robin
Caroline Buchanan was another one of the women backflipping. Playing it smart, she didn't break it out until her semi-finals run against Vae and unfortunately over-rotated the flip
Harriet was consistent throughout finals and knew that a mistake in the tough conditions would be the end. She played her cards right and it paid off
Vae Verbeeck and Conor Macfarlane getting things started
Billy Meaclem, Thomas Lemoine, and Matt Begg were all contenders for the top spot and riding with some incredible style
Joe Simpson keeping it stylish out on course
Matt Begg had some incredible amplitude and extension on every jump. He may not have had the speed of some other riders but he kept moving on thanks to expertise on the style component
Lemoine just pushing the front wheel over one of these incredibly tight corners on course during finals. Incredibly frustrating for him but he would still walk away with a silver medal
Conditions may not have been ideal but the riders were making it work
Style seemed to be the top dog this time around
Left to right: Vae Verbeeck, Harriet Burbidge-Smith, Ronja Hill-Wright
Left to right: Thomas Lemoine, Billy Meaclem, Bass Van-Steenbergen
Podium:
CLIF Speed & Style presented by Mons Royale
Harriet Burbidge-Smith (AUS) // Billy Meaclam (NZL)
Vaea Verbeeck (CAN) // Tomas Lemoine (FRA)
Ronja Hill-Wright (AUS) // Bas van Steenbergen (CAN)
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