Crankworx AirDH
What was supposed to open Crankworx ended it instead; the AirDH saw both punters and pros take to the slopes of Mr Black—Skyline's dedicated flow-trail—for a fast and furious run.
Words: Anna Beck
Images: Tim Bardsley-Smith
The final day of Crankworx Rotorua 2017 saw the Air DH, shifted from earlier in the week. The event is a downhill format, where amateurs can compete alongside the pro’s on a fast and furious run down Skyline’s “Mr Black” run; a fast flowing gravity-fuelled run with more tabletops and gaps than you could poke a stick at.
In the women's race, Canadian Vaea Verbeeck took the win, her first for Crankworx, before crashing in the finishing straight. Jill Kintner rode to second just ahead of Australia's own Buchanan in third. Kintner held onto the lead to take Queen of Crankworx, but it looks as though this years women's competition is set to be tight with Buchanan pushing her all the way to the line.
In the men's race, a mostly assortment of riders from all of the disciplines came together to attack Mr Black. Tactics were talked about, bike set ups varied wildly, from hardtails to downhill rigs. Most roders who had an enduro bike chose to rode that rig for the run. Yeti's Ritchie Rude managed a substantial time warming to hot seat, but in the end it was local boy Matt Walker who took the glory of the AirDH win, and cemented his place as Kig of Crankworx Rotorua. Thomas Slavic was second followed by Bas Van Steerbergen in third. Bring on the next Crankworx battle!
Results available here
