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Scott wins first-ever women's Speed and Style at Crankworx Whistler

Ropelato tops men's event to extend King of Crankworx lead
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American Jordy Scott competes in the CLIF Speed & Style at Blackcomb Base II on Aug. 16. The 18-year-old won the inaugural event. Photo by Dan Falloon

Jordy Scott made Crankworx history on Aug. 16, winning the inaugural women's event at the CLIF Speed and Style up at Blackcomb Base II.

Scott almost didn't make it up the mountain, however, a day after taking silver in the Rock Shox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge. With some encouragement, though, she entered and eked out a win over Canadian Casey Brown.

"I'm really stoked on that," Scott said. "I was feeling really rough [from pump track] this morning and almost pulled out. I just decided to go for it and my team manager said, 'I think you could do it, rolling down the course and maybe get a podium or something.'

"I started riding and feeling a little bit better. I'm really happy that I went for it."

Scott and the eight other women who entered were challenged by windy conditions that delayed the event's start time. However, the 18-year-old Scott tamed the course and held on to win.

"It freaks me out more if I wait up there and wait for the wind to end," she said. "I just have to trust myself, know that I've ridden in the wind before and that I can get it done.

"I took it a little easy in the berms. They were a little bit wet and some people were sliding out, so I'm glad I did that because I didn't lose any time," she added. "I love the big jumps and was having a great time out there."

Scott grew up doing BMX, but in her downtime, would go to Pennsylvania's Camp Woodward and ride dirt jumps and skate parks and get more bike experience, which she says has helped her with every discipline. She hopes to do more freestyle events in the future after also competing in the Big White Invitational earlier this summer.

"It's always been a side thing, but I've been happy to compete in it this year," she said. "I've been really liking the downhill racing but I'd like to come to a few of the Crankworx events and compete in anything I can."

Veteran rider Brown, meanwhile, was thrilled to see high participation numbers the first time out, especially given the conditions.

"It was awesome to see so many girls signed up for the event and turned out for it," she said. "I'm just so glad these girls can ride in the wind, man, it's super windy out here and they threw down. It was super sick."

Brown, who completed tricks such as a one-foot turndown, said the course was full of fun corners and challenging grass turns. She added that the best way, at least for her, to go up against the wind was to try to trick into the gusts.

"I feel like if you don't do a dead sailor, you're going to be better off if you just scrub it a little bit, have a little bit more control over your bike and make it do something in the air other than just hanging out and waiting for the wind to catch you," she said.

The women's event was in a different format than the men's, as each competitor dropped individually as opposed to the traditional head-to-head matchup.

In the men's event in the evening, Mitch Ropelato of the United States knocked off Tomas Lemoine of France in the final as speed won out over style. Lemoine cased the first jump of his second run and essentially ceded the win to Ropelato, who picked up his third win and fourth podium appearance of the week to extend his King of Crankworx lead.

"Things are just cooking right now. I don't know what to say," Ropelato said. "I don't think you could tell somebody you were going to do what I did this week. It [would be], 'OK, good luck with that.'

"It's pretty cool to be able to do that."

Ropelato primarily earned style points through his 360s, and blasted down the course to take a major time advantage over his competitors. However, 2018 champion Lemoine was finding a perfect balance between the two until the finals, making the first-time finalist Ropelato sweat a bit in the start gate.

"I was nervous. He was putting faster times than me down," he said. "I was just stoked to be in that final."

In the small final, Sweden's Martin Soderstrom defeated Great Britain's Daryl Brown to claim the overall World Tour crown.

"It's unreal. I had a really good year with only podium places, so I stayed very consistent and that's why I won the overall," he said.

Soderstrom said the course, moved to Base II from its traditional grounds in the Boneyard, was a challenge.

"We're used to tracks that are 25 seconds and this was 36," he said. It's way longer, so it was tiring, but it feels even better to end it."