From Paul Bas' backflip-on-tailwhip-off the final feature to Brandon Semenuk's half cab drop to Emil Johansson's show of perfection last year, Crankworx has delivered 16 stunning slopestyle competitions in the Whistler Booneyard. Unfortunately, we won't be getting a 17th this weekend but thankfully we have lots of memories to look back on. here are the highlights from nearly 2 decades of slopestyle's biggest prize.
2004The event that started it all. Paul Basagoitia took top honours in 2004 on a bike borrowed from Cam Zink although the event is probably best remembered for Timo Pritzel's insane overshoot. Keep an eye out for Kirt Vories clinging on to the teeter totter (or Tower of Power as it was known) after getting off line with a bar spin.Results1. Paul Basagoitia
2. Timo Pritzel
3. Kyle Strait
200518-year-old Paul Bas defended his crown with a run that included a 360 off the quarter-pipe, two big backflips and a tail whip off the Giro trailer. Berrecloth came second with a 360 over the road gap that was described later as the trick of the night.Results1. Paul Basagoitia
2. Darren Berrecloth
3. Cam Zink
2006Cam Zink was the first man to wrestle the title off Bas in 2006 with a run that included a one footed x-up back flip on the step up and a 360 on the Gap O Tron.Results1. Cam Zink
2. Cam McCaul
3. Kyle Strait
20072007 represents a changing of the guard where the freeride legends such as Strait, Zink and Berrecloth start to get pushed aside by a new generation of slopestyle riders that have no fear going as big as the Crankworx course demands. Ben Boyko takes top honours and a Whistler local by the name of Brandon Semenuk takes to the Crankworx podium for the first time.Results1. Ben Boyko
2. Andreu Lacondeguy
3. Brandon Semenuk
2008As captured by the New World Disorder filmers, 2008's edition saw the double backflip pulled in competition for the first time by Andreu Lacondeguy on the first jump of his second finals run. It was enough for him to take the win ahead of Lance McDermit and Semenuk.Results1. Andreu Lacondeguy
2. Lance McDermit
3. Brandon Semenuk
2009Greg Watts takes the win with a combo packed run finishing off with a backflip off the final feature. Semenuk flip whips his way to second and Soderstrom gets third. The event also gets its first-ever streaker.Results1. Greg Watts
2. Brandon Semenuk
3. Martin Soderstrom
2010Cam Zink's first run score of 95.0 was untouchable in 2010. Mike Montgomery came second and local 18-year-old Casey Groves was third despite dropping a chain just before the final drop on his run. Safety was a big talking point in 2010 with Semenuk, Berrecloth and Granieri all getting injured. Groves said afterwards, "I never want to trick a drop that big and gnarly again because of how many of my friends got hurt!"Results1. Cam Zink
2. Mike Montgomery
3. Casey Groves
2011Brandon Semenuk finally wins Joyride after nearly 5 years of podiums. It was a hugely popular win and he was able to celebrate with a massive fist pump off the final drop as 20,000 fans cheered him home on his victory lap. The big breakthrough performance came from 15-year-old Anthony Messere who went stratospheric off the hip to pick up 3rd.Results1. Brandon Semenuk
2. Cam Zink
3. Anthony Messere
2012Mechanicals and spills plagued the competition in 2012 but Tomas Genon was able to keep it rubber side down and take the win. He did get a cracked tooth courtesy of a champagne bottle on the podium though! Martin Soderstrom picked up second and Cam McCaul came back from injury for third.Results1. Thomas Genon
2. Martin Soderstrom
3. Cam McCaul
2013Brandon Semenuk is back on top with a score of 96.4 in his second run. He's hotly pursued by two Euros in Martin Soderstrom and Sam Pilgrim.Results1. Brandon Semenuk
2. Martin Soderstrom
3. Sam Pilgrim
2014Semenuk becomes the first rider to win back-to-back Joyrides since Paul Bas and makes himself the most successful Joyride athlete in the process as he picks up his third win. Brett Rheeder announces himself with a second place finish while Anthony Messere picks up another third.Results1. Brandon Semenuk
2. Brett Rheeder
3. Anothony Messere
2015Double? Make it a three peat. Semenuk was becoming untouchable at Joyride events now throwing down runs that came close to perfection. Only the deep trick bag of BMX convert Nicholi Rogatkin could come close.Results1. Brandon Semenuk
2. Nicholi Rogatkin
3. Thomas Genon
2016Two time winner Zink started the show with a cruisy run and a heartfelt goodbye but it was Brett Rheeder who grabbed all the headlines as he picked up his first win. We didn't get to see Semenuk's fully planned run due to mistakes but continued to progress the sport by half cabbing one of the drops.Results1. Brett Rheeder
2. Thomas Genon
3. Max Fredriksson
2017The world stands still for two minutes as Semenuk takes win number 5 and managed to stamp the half cab as part of a full run. Semenuk hasn't been back to Joyride since. 18-year-old Emil Johansson continued his meteoric rise to the top of the sport while at the other end of the age spectrum, Ryan Nyquist reminded us what made him a BMX legend.Results1. Brandon Semenuk
2. Emil Johansson
3. Ryan Nyquist
2018A smoke-filled boneyard saw Nicholi Rogatkin take his first Joyride crown in 2018 and the Triple Crown in the process. It was a clash of styles as the frantic spins and flips of the American beat out the languid style of Canada's Rheeder in the judges' eyes.Results1. Nicholi Rogatkin
2. Brett Rheeder
3. Erik Fedko
2019Emil Johansson completed an emotional victory following a ten month break from the sport with an autoimmune disease. Rheeder was second place again while Dawid Godziek layed down some huge tricks for third.Results1. Emil Johansson
2. Brett Rheeder
3. Dawid Godziek
Theres a matt macduff podcast with brett rheeder where he talks about how one of the courses (les 2 alps, maybe?) was SUPER shitty, and how the builders on that particular event in 2013 didn't know how to build what the riders were looking for. They basically turned a skills park into a slopestyle course. This is the event where Rheeder broke his back.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/7-ego-is-the-enemy-with-brett-rheeder/id1503451187?i=1000477385596
Think he starts talking about it around the 47:10 mark
I wouldn't say the variance is what hurt the athletes but rather the absurdity of said different features and as you pointed out, it was up to the different build crews to get it right. I remember this coming up a lot during the 2010 crankworx with the massive drop with a sort of hip landing that Zink 360ed and Montgomery tailwhipped. So many people got destroyed on that.
You're right though, having a consistent build leads to better features thus less injuries but to bring any event to the next level, in this case into the Olympics and as a world-wide certified series, the features need to be as consistent as possible for each level of competition.
Fast forward only a few years and slope guys are making this sport look more video games than Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX. The progression is unreal.