To some, Whistler is considered to be as Australian as it is Canadian.
So for the Canadian Open DH to feel more like the Australian Open DH shouldn't be much of a surprise.
In the pro men's division, Aussies swept the podium with Troy Brosnan winning the event for a second year in a row, knocking off countrymen Jack Moir and Mick Hannah. New Zealand's Sam Blenkinsop tied for eighth, falling short of the fourth-place or higher he needed to catch Tomas Slavik of the Czech Republic for the King of Crankworx title.
Brosnan explained there were some extra distractions around him, but he shook them off and crossed the line 3.64 seconds ahead of Moir.
"I'm feeling really good now and up there, it was nice. There was a helicopter following me the whole way down and I was trying not to zone into that too much. My run was really good, everyone was cheering super loud and I had a big smile on my face the whole way down," Brosnan said. "Winning it last year always makes you know you can do it again. I was feeling really good this year and throughout Crankworx, I was trying to train and rest up and be as fresh as I could and I guess it paid off."
As for the women, Tracey Hannah led a more diverse contingent of medallists, besting Manon Carpenter of Great Britain by 10.81 seconds and Canadian Vaea Verbeeck by 14.29 seconds.
Hannah said she had a plan for how to tackle the course and executed it well.
"The track is pretty loose and you've got to let the bike go, otherwise you go real slow. I just had to commit to the track and see how we go when get to the bottom and it was all good," she said. "I really love the dry, dusty, fast tracks and I think it suits me more than if it was wet."
The festival will wrap up with the Red Bull Joyride on Sunday morning beginning at 10:30 a.m.
