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It's a beast. The stats alone are staggering: 3400 vertical feet of descending over a track that stretches seven kilometers, from the top of the Garbanzo chair to Whistler base. The trails it traverses are legend: slices of Original Sin, Blue Velvet, In Deep, Duffman, Golden Triangle, World Cup Single Track, Ho Chi Min, Longhorn, and Monkey Hands. They've all been ridden by thousands of riders since they were first cut - and by the time Crankworx rolls around, those legendary trails are beat to hell, with roots, rocks, braking bumps, and moon dust filled corners. Add in the climb on the top of Original Sin, and you have a recipe of speed and suffering. The pain face as racers cross the finish line says it all. So, strap in and hold on tight for this Pinkbike Photo epic.
Clapped out and rough is an understatement. The track is liberally laced with massive root lines just like this. It's rough. Add in rocks, braking bumps, and stretch that torture out to seven kilometers of pain and you have an idea of what it's like to race the Garbanzo DH.
It's not the same without the Chainsaw. You are missed Steve.
Whistler local Georgia Astle had one of her best Garbanzo showings in seventh.
Tracey Hannah was agonizingly close to the top step today.
Hannah gave it all she had, but after 14 minutes of racing, she would come up just two seconds shy of victory.
Claire Buchar knows these trails as well or better than anyone, and her hometown knowledge was put to good work on her way to third.
Emilie Siegenthaler has finished on the Garbanzo podium on more than a few occasions but today would have to settle for sixth.
Jack of all trades, that's Casey Brown. The Trek rider was third in the Enduro race on Sunday and was in it for the money in the Garbo DH, but ended up just a hair too far off the pace to step on the box once the dust settled. Fourth on the day and a mere six seconds adrift from the win after 14 minutes of pure pain.
After almost 15 minutes of intense racing in near record heat, racers couldn't get their helmets off fast enough after crossing the line.
Manon Carpenter looked fast but couldn't find her groove on the rough and long Garbo track.
Beat Down: Garbanzo DH - Crankworx Whistler 2016
Miranda won the Garbanzo way back in 2009 and finished second or third on multiple occasions since. Today she finally put it all together for the top step once again. "I made plenty of mistakes but I never crashed. This race is so grueling... I definitely got sloppy a few times; I was just too tired to stay on point the entire race."
It's Miller Time! Drinks on Miranda in the village tonight.
He may have taken second in the EWS on the Top of the World stage on his "little" bike, but Josh Carlson swapped that enduro whip for some DH muscle in order to tackle the super rough Garbo track. That extra muscle was enough to place him 12th on the day against some stiff competition. One has to wonder what kind of result he'd turn in at, say, Andorra?
Mitch Ropelato dancing his V-10 through Original Sin. A big crash ended Mitch's shot at a top spot, pushing him back to 16th. He suffered a badly bruised hand, but it shouldn't stop him from competing in whip off or Pump Track later in the week.
Brage Vestavik holding down the Devinci chainsaw end of things in the Juniors' division during the Garbo DH: third on the day for the Finnish lad.
It's all about line choice. Phil Atwill takes the high line and smashes one big rock instead of eleven...
...While Mitch Ropelato opts for the center punch of eleven "pebbles" on In Deep.
Blenki pushing through the fog and exhaustion of the EWS race to take home second on the Garbo DH, all of 7.9 seconds adrift of a win.
Bare hands, scorching heat, and 12 minutes of full on DH racing can be brutal. Blenki is a beast, though, and the Kiwi can grin and bear it like few others.
Jack Moir cut it inside on the exit to Original Sin tighter than anyone else, and then center punched the gnar line in In Deep. That surgical precision may have wrung him out like a wet rag, but it also saw him take home third place for the pro men. No small feat for a rider who's been battling a cold all week.
Legendary rider Chris Kovarik muscled it down into eighth.
Local racer Finn Iles skipped on the junior race to take on the big boys today.
Iles' balls to the wall aggression and local knowledge saw him take ninth against the big guns.
Adam Brayton sending it deep on "In Deep."
Loic Bruni said he never felt comfortable on track and isn't used to racing for such a long amount of time, even joking at one point that he would need an E-bike to be competitive here. He obviously sold his ability short because he pulled out a great time to land in fourth, just three seconds off the podium.
Most riders were just rolling over the edge of these two drops but Marcelo hit them so fast he had to scrub them as a double jump.
No chain is evidently a great way to go fast: Gwin, Mulally, and now Gutierrez. Marcelo was stoked beyond belief to take the win despite snapping a chain just before the A Line portion of the Garbo DH track. "I came off a drop and hit something hard, maybe a rock? Don't know, I was going too fast; but I started hearing a bit of noise back there (near his rear derailleur) and all of the sudden, no chain. I thought I was done, but to take the win? I'm beyond happy!"
The pro Garbo DH podium (L-R): Sam Blenkinsop and Tracey Hannah (2), Marcelo Gutierrez and Miranda Miller (1), Claire Buchar and Jack Moir (3).
Your 2016 fastest men and women of Garbanzo.
Nothing beats the heat like some victory champagne.
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Member since Jun 8, 2010
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