Summer Haze: EWS Practice Photo Epic - Crankworx Whistler 2017
We return to Whistler for round seven of the Enduro World Series: the Canadian Open Enduro presented by Specialized. This year we will witness the return of "Crankzilla" the massive day that crushed souls and dreams two years ago. This is going to be a big day out, to say the least. There will be tears shed, bruises, and broken bikes. Many may not finish. To make matters more complicated, forest fires had made the general Whistler area a hot box, with poor air quality giving riders something else to worry about. Luckily, the weather patterns are changing and the rain is coming tonight which will help with air quality, but give the trails a nice new slickness that the riders have yet to witness. Tomorrow will be a true test of survival of the fittest, but for now, enjoy some dry and dusty practice shots.
Welcome to Canada.
Lining up for the grand daddy of stages.
No one is betting against Cecile Ravanel here in Whistler.
Jared Graves has more fitness and power than anyone, and isn't afraid to suffer it out on the long stages. Look for him to leave his mark right from that start on Stage 1.
The man to beat. Will Sam Hill reign supreme tomorrow?
Adrien Dailly is looking to pull back the points he lost in the overall last round.
Local favorite, and runner up in 2016. Jesse Melamed is definitely going to be one of the guys to beat here on Sunday.
Can you spot the bear? I mean rider?
Randy looking for that big line.
Cody Kelley squeezing through the crack on stage four.
Hannah Barnes battles the roots on Ride Don't Slide.
Lat round Iago Garay was boosting between Aspen trees, and this round it's much of the same amongst a different variety.
Noga Korem floats through the steep loam on the freshly rebuilt classic, Ride Don't Slide.
Zakarias Johansen drops in from Top of the Word to kick off one of the longest stages we have ever seen at an EWS round.
Katy Winton is looking to put the hammer down tomorrow.
Mckay Venzia skipping his way through stage two.
Martin Maes and the Bulldog go Joy riding.
Isabeau Courdurier drops in on stage one. Those views might be obscured tomorrow.
Shelly Flood below the epic view on Stage 1.
Joe Nation carving through some brutal rocks on Stage 1.
Lewis Buchanan turn bar into oblivion.
Richie Rude won here last year, can he do it again this year?
Robin Wallner squeezes through a rock and a hard place on Stage 4.
Josh Carlson smashes the rocks at the bottom of Stage 4.
Damien Oton loving the long and physical stages of Crankzilla.
Isabeau Courdurier on Top of the World.
Loose Dog looking a little small in the big pine forest.
Looks like the lovely loam won't be quite so dusty tomorrow.
Alex Cure had a hard time in the dust of Aspen, but if we get a little rain he could do well here in Whistler.
Jerome Clemetz blasts the final chute on Stage 2.
Wyn Masters amounts the moss and dry loom at the bottom of Stage 2.
Sam Hill looking uncannily fast on the steeps of RDS.
Richie Rude instilling fear in the rocks below.
Caro Gehrig threads it town the incredibly tight and technical Stage 2.
Blenki will be trying his hand again at the EWS.
Seb Claquin through one of the many boulder fields on Stage 4.
Rae Morrison loving the dry and dusty conditions here in Whistler.
Yoann Barelli showing us how it's done.
Grubby was feeling the heat by the end of day one.
Miranda Miller will be looking for a stage win or two on home turf.
Marco Osborne keeping the speed up in the gnar of Stage two.
Robin Walner finding that the quickest way through the roots is to not touch them with his tires.
Wyn Masters found his rhythm on his second run of Stage two.
Miranda Miller is on home turf, but definitely not racing on the trails she rides on a regular basis.
Florian Nicolai with all the style on Stage 2.
After over 20 minutes of racing flat out, racers will have to deal with roots the size of their quads at the bottom of Stage 1.
Shawn Neer is looking to leave his mark on these North American rounds.
Flying Flo hopping up high to smooth things out.
Ines Thoma crushing Stage 4.
Irony on so many levels in this photo.
With rain coming in overnight the quality of the air is set to improve exponentially. The quality of the trail surface might be a different story though.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgGI3hIow8k&feature=youtu.be
I can already envision the drive, (don't know cool trails in N. Dakota or eastern Montana) riding in the Crazy Mountains east of Bozeman, then in Bozeman and environs, Curley Lake/Rock Creek loop, ride a few more areas in Montana and northern Idaho, then highway 20 and ride near Colville, and Kettle Crest, maybe Angel's Staircase, or North 20-Mile, and Foggy Dew (a MUST) near Winthrop/Twisp. Cutthroat Pass, then hit Bellingham, Squamish and finally Whistler.
Enjoy the road trip. Great riding all along the way. You could head home along the Trans-Canada highway and find amazing riding on your way home.