Maxxis Riders Take Flight at Crankworx Whistler; Verbeeck Is Queen of Crankworx
With the attention of the mountain biking world trained on Crankworx Whistler, Maxxis’ sponsored riders did not disappoint, taking multiple victories, podiums, and top ten spots. Just a few of the highlights:
Rocky Mountain’s Vaea Verbeeck was named Queen of Crankworx. Verbeeck also took fifth place in women’s Canadian Open Air DH, third in women’s 100% Dual Slalom, third in women’s Garbanzo DH, sixth in the women’s RockShox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge, and ninth in women’s Air DH. iXS/100%’s Adrien Loron took second place in men’s King of Crankworx and Pivot/TLD/Maxxis’ Kialani Hines was second in the Queen of Crankworx contest.
Red Bull/Norco/Shimano’s Jill Kintner took three victories, winning the women’s RockShox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge, women’s Air DH, and women’s 100% Dual Slalom. Hines took third place on the women’s RockShox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge podium and sixth place in women’s 100% Dual Slalom and women’s Garbanzo DH.
Canyon Factory Team’s Troy Brosnan launched his new Maxxis signature tire, the Dissector, at Crankworx, soaring to victory in men’s Canadian Open DH. Brosnan and Maxxis engineers worked together to produce the Dissector, which Brosnan says is his ideal tire for dry, loose conditions. Also on the men’s Open DH podium for Maxxis were Canyon Factory Team’s Magnus Manson in fourth place and Unior/Devinci Factory’s Dakotah Norton in fifth. Norco Factory Team’s Sam Blenkinsop was sixth, Canyon Factory Team’s Mark Wallace was seventh, Giant Factory Off-Road Team’s Eliot Jackson was tenth, and SCOTT DH Factory Team’s Brendan Fairclough was eleventh.
TREK’s Emil Johansson triumphed over a serious illness diagnosed two seasons ago to win the Red Bull Joyride, with teammate and friend Brett Rheeder a close second. “It’s been rough. If you had told me two years ago, when stuff was really rough, that this day was going to happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Johansson told Canadian Cycling Magazine. Rheeder’s performance clinched his Crankworx Slopestyle World Championships title.
Loron earned second place in the men’s RockShox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge, with Rocky Mountain Bikes/POC Sports/Shimano/Race Face’s Jakob Jewett also on the podium in fourth place. Pivot Cycles/Chris King/Stan’s No Tubes/Fox Factory/Maxxis/SRAM/Afton Shoes/Rev Grips’ Mathew Sterling took eighth place.
SRAM TLD Racing phenom Valentina Höll took second place in Women’s Open DH. Competing in this season’s Junior Women’s World Cup, Höll has posted times that would make or top the Elite Women’s podium. Joining Höll and Verbeeck in the top ten were Pivot Factory racing’s Emilie Siegenthaler in sixth place, SRAM/RockShox/Norco Bicycles/TLD/Maxxis’ Sian A’Hern in seventh, and Kona Factory Team’s Miranda Miller in ninth.
Loron took eighth place in CLIF Speed & Style, Marin/Red Bull’s Matt Jones took ninth, and Hyper Bikes/Fox/Maxxis’ Bas Van-Steenbergen earned tenth place. In men’s 100% Dual Slalom, Ghost/Red Bull’s Tomas Slavik earned the third-place spot on the podium, with Sterling in fourth place and Van-Steenbergen in fifth. Also making the top ten were Unior/Devinci Factory Racing’s Keegan Wright, who took eighth place, and Jackson, who rounded out the top ten.
Blenkinsop and Van-Steenburgen were third and fourth in men’s Air DH, with Manson in tenth place. Höll took third place in women’s Air DH, with Hines and Miller in sixth and eighth places.
Maxxis congratulates all of these riders on their victories and on a season of spectacular performances anf we look forward to the 2020 Crankworx season!