This was an interesting year for the Crankworx slopestyle event. Unlike previous years most of the riders were not happy with the course design and were not exactly thrilled to throw their biggest tricks. The huge drop at the end of the course was not even open until a half hour before the event started. Once the 15-20 foot jumbotron drop opened riders quickly realized that the landing was way too flat.

All that aside the action started at around 6 PM on Saturday night. In true Crankworx fashion there were more people crowded into the village and on the slope than ever. It was amazing to hear a crowd of 10,000 scream because a rider landed (or attempted) a big trick.

The group of 25 riders had two runs to qualify for the "Super Final." Many riders played it safe in the qualifier but threw down one or two big tricks to secure their spot. A big surprise was that Cam Zink decided to ride. He won the event last year but was not expected to compete this year due to yet another knee injury. Out of nowhere he appeared as the last rider in the semifinal. He kicked off his run with a huge backflip off the first drop. This left the crowd speachless, as he was the first rider to go upside down on that feature.

The real fun started once the finals began. This is where the top 12 riders had two runs to kick serious ass. This is also where the issues with the course really came into play. It doesn't matter how many crazed fans you have cheering you on, no amount of crowd support can make you want to hit a huge drop with a flat landing. Run after run saw riders throwing down big tricks but not doing anything off the jumbotron drop. That was until Ben Boyko tossed a gigantic 360 right off the end and rode away clean. The crowd erupted and it honestly sounded like a touchdown getting scored at Giant's Stadium. From there the action really stepped up.

Paul Bas ripped down the course throwing a couple huge flips while making his was to the final drop. He tossed a big tailwhip off the end but slammed hard. His chest hit the bars and it looked like it was all over for him. Brandon Semenuck turned some heads by throwing huge suicide no handers off of the first and last drops. Next up was Darren Berrecloth. He scared a lot of people when he threw a huge one-footed 360 off the first drop. Unfortunately he overshot the landing, over rotated, and slammed hard.

Cam Zink ripped down the course but fell in both runs without ever making it to the bottom. It was rumoured that he would be trying a double backflip, but this was not seen.

One area where the progression of riding could really be seen was the fact that about half the riders in the finals backflipped off of the 30-foot drop at the top of the course. It was mind blowing to watch rider after rider get inverted off what was basically a road gap. After landing the gap a 40-foot double followed. Ben Boyko tossed a HUGE tailwhip over it and in the run of his life continued on down the course 360ing off the Giro box and then tossing another 3 off the seemingly un-trickable jumbotron drop. The crowd went wild at this point.

Spanish fly Andreu Lacondeguy took his second run and it looked like he was gunning for the top spot. After throwing a series of huge flips, whips, and a 360 out of the satellite dish the crowd watched in anticipation to see what he would throw off the jumbotron to seal his win. What did he do? Nothing. To watch Andreu just straight drop the jumbotron really sent a message that the course had not been built properly. I don't blame him for not wanting to crush himself on the flat landing.

Overall the slopestyle this year was not what everyone had hoped it would be. Despite this the crowd was pumped and a new era of riders filled out the top three spots, adding more fuel to the fire of MTB progression.

Crankworx Slopestyle Top 5
Ben Boyko
Andreu Lacondeguy
Brandon Semenuck
Cam McCaul
Paul Basagoita