bike-news-2020-cwxroto20_as6i2214

SEVEN WINS FOR MAXXIS AT CRANKWORX ROTORUA 2020

JOHANSSON SMASHES SLOPESTYLE WHILE KINTNER AND VAN-STEENBERGEN LEAD THE CHASE FOR CRANKWORX CROWN

Crankworx Rotorua was an unqualified success for Maxxis, with Jill Kintner and Bas Van-Steenbergen holding the lead for the King and Queen of Crankworx and Maxxis’ riders taking 7 wins and 15 additional podiums. The first event of the Crankworx World Tour was held March 1-8 in New Zealand.

 

 Johansson starts his run off the first Crankworx Rotorua slopestyle feature.?@maddogboris

 

The Maxxis Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza on Saturday is not only the main event, but a colossal win for Emil Johansson, whose first run left other contenders in the dust. Moments after Johansson stomped his final move, this era was dubbed, “The Age of Johansson” by none other than announcer and freestyle legend Cam McCaul himself.  In addition to its major sponsorship of the entire World Tour, Maxxis sponsors the Rotorua slopestyle contest in honor of the late New Zealand mountain biker Kelly McGarry.

 

 Johansson celebrates an impeccable victory from the top step of the Crankworx Rotorua podium. ?@maddogboris

 

 Johansson and his Maxxis-shod winning steed. ?@maddogboris

 

Maxxis swept both the men’s and the women’s top three in the TOA Enduro, with Ed Masters and Rae Morrison taking the wins, Cole Lucas and Kate Weatherly in second place, and Matt Walker and Georgia Astle in third. This year’s course was a dry dust-fest compared to the mud-laden singletrack of 2019.

 

 Amid the ferns, Morrison floats through the light patches. ?@maddogboris

 

 Masters using every inch of singletrack. ?@maddogboris

 

 The first Crankworx podium of the year is all Maxxis. ?@maddogboris

 

Maxxis’ riders were all over the podium in other events as well. Van-Steenbergen and Walker took second and third place in men’s Dual Slalom. Kintner and Verbeeck were second and third in women’s Dual Speed & Style, and Kintner and Blenkinsop each took second place in their respective downhill races. Kintner and Verbeeck were second and fifth in women’s Pump Track, with Van-Steenbergen taking fourth place in the men’s event.

 

 VanSteenbergen with the slight advantage over Slavic. ?@maddogboris

 

 Kintner and Verbeeck with less than a bike length between them. ?@maddogboris

 

 Maxxis athletes make up the majority of the Dual Slalom podium. ?@maddogboris

 

 It’s a Pumptrack party under the lights. ?@maddogboris

 

 Verbeeck stretched out suicide no-handers in Dual Speed and Style. ?@maddogboris

 

Kintner, who made the podium in every event she contested at Rotorua, took victories in women’s Air DH and Dual Slalom, with Vaea Verbeeck, 2019’s Queen of Crankworx, in third place in both events.

Sam Blenkinsop led a Maxxis sweep of the top three in men’s Air DH, with Tomas Slavik and Matt Walker in second and third place.

 

 Kintner kicking the dust up on the DH course.?@maddogboris

Rising star Jackson Goldstone, age 16, won the Oceania Whip-Off Championship.

 Goldstone literally swapped ends in the air during the Whip-Off. ?@maddogboris

 Goldstone may be young, but this kid has wings. ?@maddogboris

 

 VanSteenbergen and Kintner lead the charge for the Crankworx crown.?@maddogboris

The second of this year’s three Crankworx festivals is scheduled for June 10-14 in Innsbruck, Austria.