Not three days after wrapping up 2011’s Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada many of the world’s best riders descended on Winter Park, Colorado for Crankworx Colorado, featuring seven events anchored by 17th stop on the 2011 Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour slopestyle competition.
Cam McCaul (Trek C3) took the slopestyle with a 93 point winning run, which he posted in the first of his two final runs. McCaul was the only rider to break into the 90s during the first run. Brandon Semenuk (Trek C3) came back after a 45minute wind delay to post 92-points, which was good for second, while Britian’s Sam Pilgrim (NS/Monster Energy) took the final podium spot.
McCaul won the 2011 slopestyle with a no handed tuck front flip. Last year, he crashed, breaking his femur, attempting a similar maneuver. Defending champ and three-time Crankworx Colorado slopestyle winner, Semenuk, brought all he had, but fell short of McCaul’s winning score.
Semenuk on the final feature
Other Crankworx Colorado events, included: Dual Slalom, Unchained Challenge (chainless downhill), Rainmaker Air Downhill, cross-country, intergalactic pond crossing and UCI C1 downhill.
Brian Lopes (Oakley/Ibis) took both the Dual Slalom and Rainmaker Air Downhill events, while Melissa Buhl (KHS) took the women’s slalom and Jackie Harmony (Vixen) took the women’s Air Downhill. Harmony also took the Unchained Downhill for the women, while French downhill champion Mickael Pascal (Morewood/ UnitedRide) took the men’s event. Both Harmony and Pascal also took wins in Sunday’s UCI C1 downhill event
Winter Park's Air Downhill was held on the Rainmaker trail Colorado's answer to Whistler's A-line
The Trek-Subaru husband and wife duo of Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger took the men and women’s cross-country races.
Few made it across the Village pond
Tim Allen (Niner) successfully defended his 2010 title in most crowd-pleasing event of the weekend, the intergalactic pond crossing. The 25-year-old from Golden, Colorado was the fastest of the few who made it across Winter Park’s Village pond on a narrow floating wooden bridge.
