There will be no coup in the realm of men's mountain biking this year, for the King of Crankworx still reigns and his name is Ryan Gilchrist.
The Aussie phenom secured an empire despite a "horrendous" final week by his own admission. He managed silver in the Garbanzo Downhill (DH) as a 200-point lead coming into Whistler helped him absorb a 62nd-place Air DH result thanks to a flat tire. Even if Gilchrist had skipped the RockShox Canadian Open DH (a moot point given its cancellation) and Ultimate Pump Track Challenge (where he placed ninth), nobody was going to match his 1,053 points.
Tegan Cruz (881) and Jackson Frew (826) battled valiantly to finish second and third overall. Cruz also edged out Frew for top honours in the DH ranking by two points (228 versus 226).
Meanwhile, Jordy Scott laid siege to the proverbial castle and deposed Martha Gill for her inaugural Queen of Crankworx throne (1,025). Scott was untouchable at dual slalom, obtained pump track silver and finished fifth at the OG Canadian Open DH to leave the results of her mission in no doubt.
Tour newcomer Sabina Košárková (734) was named Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, victorious at both Whistler's own pump track event and the overall for that discipline. Caroline Buchanan settled for the No. 3 overall hole (671) ahead of Gill (628).
"It's a pretty surreal feeling," Gilchrist said. "Winning King of Crankworx is crazy on its own, but doing it back-to-back is unreal. I think I've really matured a lot over the last few years in my riding, and developing a bit of consistency has made a big difference. Wrapping it up in Whistler with friends, family and my girlfriend here is a special moment."
"I've been working for this for a long time, and it's so nice to finally have it be real," remarked Scott. "I've just been doing a lot of video review…trying to look at where my weaknesses are and work on those as much as I can."
Sunday evening's pump track competition had no bearing on the King and Queen race, but did deliver a gold medal to Niels Bensink. Eddie Reynolds found himself with silver after beating Gilchrist, and Cruz took bronze.
Kialani Hines joined Košárková and Scott on the women's pump track podium.
'That's the game we play'
Gilchrist's campaign looked dominant on paper, but it was not bereft of adversity. He made "a silly mistake" on a Cairns slalom berm this May and paid for it with a broken wrist. Any biker knows that kind of injury can rear its ugly head in certain situations—like Garbanzo where there's no way to avoid pain, impacts on track and compromised strength.
Putting in tough early-season yards gave Gilchrist a margin of error, but he made sure to credit his opponents while reflecting on his own achievement.
"They're honestly just incredible human beings and brilliant riders to watch," he said. "Getting to watch Tegan at work [during dual slalom] was just mastery. You can never underestimate anybody and everybody's got a shot at it, so I'm looking forward to the next year of Crankworx racing with everybody in the fight.
"You can look into pretty much any great, successful rider—riders who are far greater and more successful than me—they haven't had it easy. I've been watching Crankworx since I was of single-digits age…to see my heroes live out their dreams and have that be on my doorstep right now, I'm just getting started. I'm only 23 years old and I've got a teammate who's 40: Mick Hannah. I love riding my bike, I love riding it fast and I'd love to keep on winning for my family, my country and my team Yeti."
Cruz is also proud of his yearlong effort taking on many of the world's best. He describes Frew as a great friend and expressed satisfaction with a runner-up outcome in the overall proceedings.
Frew, however, voiced a degree of bittersweetness. The Canberra native missed the opening round in Christchurch, then failed to meet his own expectations at dual slalom (eighth) and pump track (16th) in Whistler. He did, of course, rack up a key silver medal in the OG DH.
"I've had some peaks that I didn't expect. I've had some lows that I also probably didn't expect, but that's the game we play," commented Frew. "It's hard not to be happy, but at the same time, I wanted more. Ryan's the ultimate competitor…he pushes me, and I'd like to think I push him pretty hard as well. Tegan is just the nicest person I've ever met. There's not enough positive things I can say about him and how bright his future is going to be. It's an honour for me to get to share a lot of podiums with them.
"Crankworx has become something really special to me. It was my first international event in 2013 when I first came over here to Whistler. I was Prince of Crankworx back then…was hoping [to be] King for the 20th anniversary, but Crankworx became my career, really."
'Everybody brings something different'
Scott has dealt with her fair share of injuries and disappointments over the past few years, but loves mountain biking and finds gratification in working through each obstacle. She was intentional in praising her peers too.
"Everybody brings something different," said Scott. "Caroline I looked up to as a kid, and Martha's been so welcoming into the Crankworx world. [She was] the Queen last year and it was cool to compete with her—then Sabina has just been so positive and so stoked to be immersed in this world."
As a BMX talent who hopes to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games, Košárková's first time on a dirt pump track was this February in Christchurch. It appears that she might have contracted Crankworx fever since then.
"I didn't really expect to come here to this event, and after my first time in New Zealand I really liked this kind of racing," Košárková admitted. "I'm so happy I made it here to Whistler and finished all that I wished for: taking the overall in pump track is such a dream. I think I still have time next year to race some Crankworx, and then maybe I'll take a pause for two years and be back after the Olympics."
Visit https://www.crankworx.com/results/series/ for the full King and Queen of Crankworx standing and for more pump track results.
