The 2016 Crankworx Whistler festivies are underway.  The first live-broadcasted event to kick things off was the Dual Speed and Style.  Check it out inside.

Photos: Crankworx / Scott Robarts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, August 13, Whistler, BC—Style, speed and a double “first ever” marked the opening competition of Crankworx Whistler, as the final stop of the 2016 Crankworx World Tour got underway on Saturday.

Slopestyle rider Tomas GENON (BEL) pulled out a win in the CLIF Bar Dual Speed & Style, proving tricks could dominate on the short, fast courses, despite athletes’ concerns the track itself would force speed to dominate.

“At the beginning of the day it was looking like we couldn’t do anything with tricks because the seeding run shows that the top six were only racers. So I was just like, well, I’m going to do my best and see how it goes,” said Genon.

Dual Speed and Style is the youngest sport at Crankworx and pits two riders against each other on a feature-laden, double course—one track for each rider. The riders have to beat the clock, and each other, but can be penalized or rewarded for the tricks they execute coming down the course.

Absolutely squeaking in the win with a final burst of speed, Genon out-tricked and out-raced Jakub VENCL (CZE), clearly proving to have a little of both qualities in the tank.

Competition for third spot had a mind-blowing story, meanwhile, as Tom VAN STEENBERGEN (CAN) earned the first perfect 100 in the sport’s history for executing its first double backflip—and he did it against his brother.

“I was just stoked to pull that double flip in a race,” he said. “We’ve raced against each other before in BMX way back, but this was really cool. Speed and Style is about bringing Slopestyle and racing together, so it’s super cool, and it was just great to race against my brother. It feels like the funnest thing ever.”

As Whistler marks the conclusion of the three-stop Crankworx World Tour, the competition also wrapped with Adrien LORON (FRA) being awarded the Speed & Style World Championship – his second series win. The points he’s accumulated so far also have him in the lead to secure the 2016 King of Crankworx.

CLIF Bar Dual Speed & Style winners:
1. Thomas GENON (BEL)
2. Jakub VENCL (CZE)
3. Tom VAN STEENBERGEN (CAN)

“I came in to this mountain biking world by winning the Crankworx pump track three years ago, then they invited me to Canada and I won again. And now it’s my main event,” he said.

The CLIF Bar Dual Speed & Style marked the first live broadcast of seven, but is the fourth event of the 10-day festival.

Live Crankworx events are broadcasted on Crankworx.com, and the remaining live events are below.

• SRAM Canadian Open Enduro presented by Specialized, Sunday Aug. 14, 5-7 p.m. PST; Sunday, Aug. 14 1-3 a.m. CET in Europe; Sunday, Aug. 14 noon to 2 p.m. NZT in New Zealand
• Fox Air DH Wednesday, Aug. 17 3:30-5:00 p.m. PST; Wednesday, Aug. 17 1:30-1:30 a.m. CET in Europe; Thursday, Aug. 18 10:30 a.m. – noon NZT in New Zealand
• Ultimate Pump Track Challenge presented by RockShox Thursday, Aug. 18 7:30-9:30 p.m. PST; Friday, Aug. 19 3:30-5:30 a.m. CET in Europe; Friday, Aug. 19 2:30-4:30 p.m. NZT in New Zealand
• Giant Dual Slalom Friday Aug. 19 5-7 p.m. PST; Saturday, Aug. 20 1-3am CET in Europe; Saturday, Aug. 20 noon-2 p.m.
• Canadian Open DH presented by iXS Saturday, Aug. 20 1-3p.m. PST; Saturday, Aug. 20 9-11 p.m. CET in Europe; Sunday, Aug. 21 8-10 a.m. NZT in New Zealand
• Red Bull Joyride Sunday, Aug. 21 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. PST; Sunday, Aug. 21 6:30—9:30 p.m. CET in Europe; Monday, Aug. 22 5:30 – 8:30 a.m.