Words and Photos by Fraser Britton

Dual Slalom allows athletes to race their hearts out and not worry about being barged into, hitting huge gaps, or worrying about whether they have the right bike or not for the course.

Originally scheduled for Friday evening, timing problems resulted in the event being postponed until Saturday morning. Thousands of fans had shown up to line the course, which was conveniently located next to an access road. Not wanting to disappoint the fans, Brian Lopes (USA) GT led the charge and turned, what could have been a huge black eye for the event, into the ultimate berm session for fans and photographers alike.

Just about every media outlet in the MTB industry had someone on site, Lopes knows the value of a good photo incentive! The freight train of riders that started to slam the berms after the sun started to set was a sight to behold, and it will be remembered for years to come by all in attendance. Riders were hooting, hollering and otherwise having a blast and grinning ear to ear.

MBUK Santa Cruz rider Mark Beaumont (GBR) may have put it best when he commented with a huge grin on his face, "How many times do you see me hanging out on the mountain after a race?"

The Dual Slalom contest itself finally got under way at about 11am Saturday morning under gray skies with not nearly as many fans. Many riders including Lopes elected not to compete, as they had prior commitments in the Slopestyle or downhill practice for Sunday's Canadian Open.

When all was said and done, Greg Minnaar (RSA) Honda G Cross, Sam Hill (AUS) Monster Iron Horse, JD Swanguen (USA) Cove and Andrew Neethling (RSA) Mongoose would duke it out for the medals. For the women, it was Lisa Myklak (USA) Morewood, Leanna Gerrard (USA) Cannondale, Tracy Moseley (GBR) Kona/Les Gets and Joanna Petterson (RSA) Brodie in the final heats.

For the women, Moseley went wire to wire, winning both of her final heats to take the gold, and hand the silver medal to Peterson. Myklak did the same, beating Gerrard in both heats to take the bronze medal.

The men's laps had slightly more drama. Swanguen almost beat Hill in the semis after Hill bobbled in his first run and blew a pedal. In heat #2 the pressure of maintaining a lead over the downhill world champion took its toll, and Swanguen hit the second set of berms too hard and went down in a cloud of dust, handing Hill the trip to the finals.

Hill world once again slip a pedal in his first heat of the finals, giving Minnaar the edge going into the last run. Minnaar put the hammer down and showed why he is to be feared, not giving up any ground and taking the well-earned win. Hill rolled in a bike length back for silver. The bronze went to Swanguen who beat Neethling handily for the win.