Crankworx Slopestyle Report

Part 1

Words by Cam McRae and Pete Roggeman.

Five years after the first Crankworx Slopestyle, the lay of the land has changed significantly. It used to be that big mountain freeriders had a chance to crack the top 10 but now those invited decline the offer. Thomas Vanderham was on the original list but it’s pretty clear that this course offered little for a rider who goes big with miles of style. If you can’t tailwhip there’s not much point in coming out.


One of the coolest things about Crankworx is the large, rowdy and knowledgeable crowd. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

Last year’s course was criticized for, among other things, being too big. Few riders tricked the jumbotron drop at the end and a smaller number -  Andreu Lacondeguy for instance - looked downright gunshy. The 2007 version of the comp was highly anticipated but largely disappointing. In the finals very few riders were able to show their best stuff and there were nasty falls by many of the top riders. On top of that the result was pretty much decided after Ben Boyko’s first round run. Boyko was one of the most outspoken critics of last year’s course. When even the winner isn’t happy you know you have problems.


While there were a few complaints for the most part this year's course was well-received. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

After last year’s loud complaints many people were surprised to see John Cowan again at the helm to design and build the course – and early on it seemed that many riders weren’t stoked by the result. And then Crankworx Colorado changed all that. The riders there loved what was built for them – also by Cowan – and a group of them cornered him and peppered him with complaints and suggestions about the Whistler course. That got his shovel back out and after two weeks of sculpting and some additions the riders were for the most part very pleased.


Say it isn't so. None of these riders - Darren Berrecloth, Kyle McDonald, Kyle Strait, Mitch Chubey and Ian Nelson - made it to teh finals. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

Crankworx remains the most prestigious and talked about slopestyle event. Even now with other events like Qashqai and the Bearclaw Invitational gaining prestige and throwing down big paydays, the Whistler event continues to be the unofficial slopestyle world championship. There is nothing you can do to improve your career as a freerider and add lustre to your star like winning the big show in The Boneyard.


It isn't a party until someone capsizes the giant Kokanee can. Photo ~ Stacey Griffin

Last year’s event was approached differently than previous incarnations. After complaints about favouritism it was decided that riders would get in on merit alone. There were a few invited riders and then there was an open qualifier. Over one hundred riders hurled themselves into the burly course trying to qualify – but many failed to walk away from the experience on their own steam. The format made the Whistler clinic even busier than usual and a handful of serious injuries made it all but certain that the open format was a one shot deal.

John Cowan talking about the design of the course.

Paul Basagoitia broke his collarbone in Australia late in July. The two-time winner would be the most high profile athlete missing from the line up. Otherwise it was a large cast of healthy and hungry athletes – many with something to prove.


Justin Wyper, this year's nsmb.com AIRprentice winner, went too big on this move and broke his leg. Heal up soon Kangaroo! Photo ~ Geoff Gudavicius

The preliminaries were interrupted several times when riders went down and did not get up. Nsmb.com’s Justin Wyper was perhaps the most seriously hurt when he flat landed a three, blew out his rear tire and landed hard on one foot. He got a helicopter ride to Lion’s Gate hospital and is recovering there after surgeons successfully put his tibia and fibia back together. Casey Groves put too many degrees into a three and knocked himself out. Whistler’s Alex Prochazka went down in practice and was packaged up on a spineboard just in case. Fortunately he escaped with only a sprained ankle. Kelly McGarry of New Zealand went down hard and broke his wrist The most exciting moment of the prelims came when Andreu Lacondeguy – after a solid first run put him into the finals – attempted a double back flip on one of the upper dirt jumps. He over-rotated and ejected but came up smiling.


Unaccostumed to the sidelines: Paul Basagoitia's injury has given him the opportunity to work on his own line of hats. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

Both Ben Boyko and Darren Berrecloth put together solid runs with impressive finishes – both spun the final feature – but failed to impress the judges. In last year’s 10 rider format both would have made the finals but this year only 8 riders made it through. Berrecloth found himself in 9th with a score of 75.0– only three tenths behind Jamie Goldman while Boyko scored a 73.5. Both riders successfully backflipped – a trick that I had never seen from Boyko and one that Berrecloth had apparently never before attempted in competition – but it failed to help their causes.


Many of us figured the Claw was a shoe in for the finals when he rode clean but it was not to be. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

So after two runs to shake out the best riders the list looked like this:

Rank	Rider	Hometown	1st Run	2nd Run	Best
1	Cameron McCaul	Aptos, CA	22.0	86	89.5
2	Brandon Semenuk	Whistler, BC	85.8	62	85.8
3	Lance Mcdermott	Manchester, UK	62.0	82	84.3
4	Cameron Zink	Reno, NV	81.5	13	81.5
5	Andreu Lacondeguy	Barcelona, Spain	80.8	22	80.8
6	Greg Watts	Santa Cruz, CA	73.8	76	76.0
7	Trond Hansen	Hafjell, Norway	70.3	75	75.5
8	Jamie Goldman	Santa Cruz, CA	67.0	75	75.3

It was clear to everyone watching that any of these riders were capable of taking the win and that’d all be in for a treat. In previous years we were critical of the rider order format. This year the first qualifier would go last after each run to have a chance to knock off the rider in front of them who had a higher score. This happened in the qualifier and the first round of the finals and it added some welcome drama to event.


Mitch Chubey's runs were looking good but he went down hard in each one and didn't make it through. Photo ~ Malcolm McLaws

Chalk it up to the rapid progression of the sport or maybe the Claw and Boyko need to add a trick or two to the bag, but after Boyko’s very smooth run it was hard to think he wouldn’t qualify, and yet that’s what happened. But back flips to slopestyle are like a compulsory move in figure skating now: it’s good to show you have it in the bag but it’s not going to put you on the podium.

Either way it was surprising to have both of them out of the finals – until you take a look at the list of the riders that made it in. Maybe 8 is a few riders shy of the number that should get into the final, but you can argue format forever. At the end of the day the guys that made the final rode their way in and there wasn’t much debate they all deserved to be there. All of those names read like a who’s who of slopestyle, with maybe Goldman and Trond Hansen – super prominent riders but maybe more well known as DJ mercenaries than slopestyle aces – the two who you might call the dark horse finalists. That said those two brought a lot of game and showed that they belong right up there with the others.


Trond Hansen brought his A Game and easily made the final 8. Photo ~ Geoff Gudavicius

Another welcome addition was Kyle Ebbett doing colour commentary. He was articulate, knowledgeable and he and Brad Ewan made a solid team. Hopefully he’ll get the job next year as well. Ewan was a bit more sedate than he has been in past years, and let’s be fair, he had a suitable wingman in Ebbett this year for the first time ever. With a bit of spit and polish they would make a solid team, although no doubt Kyle will hope he’s on course next year instead of boning up on his monster truck announcer voice.

Stay tuned for a breakdown of the finals as well as information about the judges, the format they used as well as commentary on their conclusions.

Cam McRae and Pete Roggeman

What do you think? Should the Claw and Boyko have made the finals? Anyone who shouldn't have gone through? Grab the mic here...