Calling all pumptrack challengers! Whistler Blackcomb to host GMC Pumptrack Challenge en route to Crankworx WhistlerCrankworx is throwing the doors open to anyone who thinks they could compete under the glare of the international spotlight with two qualifying positions open for the man and woman win the GMC Pumptrack Challenge this weekend.
You could join the professional athletes in the
Ultimate Pump Track Challenge presented by RockShox in Whistler this August by competing this weekend.
Back by popular demand, the
GMC Pumptrack Challenge will run this
Saturday, July 22 from 10:00am to 3:15pm giving every athlete in the corridor a chance to throw down.
This guy hit the podium in Dual Speed and Slopestyle at Crankworx Innsbruck in June... Will it be a pumptrack podium for Whistler? Only time will tell.
| We want to make sure as many amateur athletes, and fans, who can and want to compete, can take that next step. Crankworx is all about riding alongside the heroes of the sport. The bike park is open during the festival and, on any given day, the Valley's trails, and the trails in the park, are full of our young fans and riders, and we know there are some strong enough to make the next step.—Darren Kinnaird, Crankworx General Manager |
Opening up this qualifier means the winning man and woman from this event will be competing from 3:00 pm onwards on Thursday, August 17 in the Ultimate Pumptrack Challenge presented by RockShox as we home in on the top athletes showcased in the
live broadcast.
Crankworx pumptrack events are elimination-style competitions. The day opens with time trials and moves to a seeding round based on the results. The seeding round then sets the stage for what’s called the “round of 32"—a final set of competitions with 32 athletes competing, head to head, to set the stage for the broadcast.
Barry Nobles, seen here sliding across the line in Whistler, is having a solid year. Both he and partner Caroline Buchanan podiumed on the Innsbruck pumptrack, Caroline placing first and Nobles in third.
Come 8:00pm the cameras start rolling and if the new athletes who won the GMC Pumptrack Challenge survive, they will be competing before a live international audience.
“The Crankworx pump track launches careers. Adrien Loron, who holds the Crankworx Pumptrack World Tour title two years running, rocketed to the front of the line, and went pro, after breaking in on the Les Deux Alpes pumptrack. This is a huge opportunity for the right athlete. It's totally possible this could be someone's watershed moment," says Kinnaird.
The GMC Pumptrack is located at the Children’s Learning Centre in Whistler, in the
Whistler Mountain Bike Park, and open seven days a week to bike park users.
It costs $15 to compete, and there will be prizes and medals for the winners. The top male and female advance to
Crankworx, on this August 11–20, 2017.
Register now on the
Whistler Mountain Bike Park website.
The man with the pumptrack magic, Adrien Loron will be looking for his second first place finish of the year in this event, and his third Crankworx Pumptrack World Tour Championship.
Photos by Sean St Denis
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