The first couple of weeks of August are often one of the most anticipated for most gravity driven mountain bikers. At this time every year there is a mass exodus to mountains of British Columbia to Whistler. It is here that the Kokanee Crankworx Festival is held where such famous races as the Air Downhill and the Garbonzo Downhill test the worlds top MTB racers skills.

 

The GT Bicycles MTB team gathered in Whistler to bomb the legendary mountain and partake of all of the activities that the Crankworx Festival is famous for. In attendance were MTB legend Eric “EC” Carter, Marc Beaumont, Kevin Aiello, Andrew Cho, Tyler McCaul along with mechanics John Canepa and Mark Maurissen and team manager Steve Spencer. The festival’s low-key atmosphere is a nice break from the pressure of the World Cup races and with the huge crowds the event draws it allows the team to mingle one-on-one freely with race fans and MTB enthusiasts. A big attention grabber in the pits and on the hill was the presence of the new GT Fury downhill race bikes. Throngs of people were drawn to the attractive appearance of the full carbon framed beauty and were eager to watch it on hill.

 

The first event of the festival was the Dual Slalom race. The course this year was one of the most challenging ever put together for a slalom competition. The tight turns and technical jumps made for an incredible show of riding skills and speed. GT team riders Kevin Aiello and Tyler McCaul qualified their way into the Pro Finals for the “Night Show”. In the amateur division GT team manager Steve Spencer decided to try his hand at a little race action and just missed the cut by one spot to make the final.

 

When the finals started there were no clear favorites as everyone was riding fast. Tyler made his way past the first round of elimination by winning both rounds. Kevin won his first heat but was unable to maintain his time advantage after switching courses so had to make an early exit. Tyler was riding strong in his second round but came up short in his bid to move on through the elimination brackets. After his race Tyler said “The course was super fun to ride but as you picked up speed towards the bottom of the course you could get in to trouble in a hurry, you had to stay on your game to the line”.

 

On Sunday the Garbonzo Downhill was ran. The “Garbo” as the locals call it is arguably the most challenging downhill races of the year. Most elite level downhill races take on average around 3 to 4 minutes to complete but the Garbonzo pushes the riders beyond their physical limits at a staggering 15 minutes or more. A racer must know how to pace themselves so not to fatigue too early and put themselves in danger on the lower sections of the gnarly course. GT team riders weren’t the only Fury mounted riders to have all of the fun. GT ace mechanics John Canepa and Mark Maurissen, who are great riders too, got their chance to race in the amateur division of the “Garbo”. Going up against a slew of fast locals the race-wrenchers rode a great race with Marc finishing 24th and John 27th in a field of more than 70 racers. Congratulations to Mark and John on their tremendous result!

 

The Pro division of the Garbonzo would prove to be one of the most competitive fields ever. As the Pro start drew closer a drizzle of rain started to cover the top of the mountain. The mountain has been bone-dry over the last several weeks as the Northwest has been experiencing unseasonal hot and dry conditions so with the rain it would grease up the already slippery rocks and roots which line the steepest parts of the race course. The seasoned GT pro’s were ready for whatever the course had ready for them as their confidence never seems to diminish when on board the GT Fury. The team took their turns at the challenging mountain knowing that on this long of a course every little mistake is compounded by the length of the race. The rookie, Kevin Aiello had a good run going until a flat tire impeded his progress but still kept on the pedals to the finish. Eric Carter has been off the DH scene for a little while but adapted like the champion he is to finish out a strong run in 35th place out of more than 80 competitors. Marc Beaumont rode to a podium finish last year in the race and was looking to improve his result this year. He kept a solid line all the way to the bottom with a sub-fourteen minute time which only a couple were able to do landing him in 4th place. After the race Marc had this to say, “I always look forward to racing in the Garbonzo and was pretty pleased with my day even though I felt like I needed to stop for a lung transplant half way down the course”. Completing the Garbonzo is an accomplishment in itself so congratulations to all who raced in this incredible event.

 

Check back later for a follow up report on how the team happenings and results of the Air Downhill, Giant Slalom and Canadian Open Downhill.

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