FIVE YEARS AWAY AND SLAVIK STILL STEALS THE WIN
| Mons Royale Dual Speed and Style delivers the first female winner in the sport
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday evening’s race saw Jill KINTNER (USA) top Casey BROWN (CAN) in the inaugural Dual Speed & Style women’s finals; however, it was fourcross dominator Tomas Slavik’s victorious return to Crankworx, which really stole the show. “I wasn’t expecting that I could win the race with just speed. Everyone was talking about what tricks they were going to do and I didn’t have any option; I’m a racer at heart and that’s what I do. For the next races, I hope to bring more tricks to make it even better for me,” said Slavik, who described his win as “unreal.” It has been five years since Slavik competed at Crankworx and his approach, more dual slalom than slopestyle, proved just too efficient for the 2014 CLIF Bar Dual Speed and Style champion, Kyle Strait, who took out heavily favoured Swede Martin SOEDERSTROM (SWE) en route to second. Speed and Style is a signature Crankworx creation, which challenges head-to-head competitors to balance the need for speed against extra points for stylish tricks, and Strait pulled out his best freestyle prowess as he tried to battle back from a 1.08 differential in the final run of the competition. Throwing down a low backflip barspin, then a double tailwhip, he pulled into the finish coral to find the cheers from the crowd were not enough. He finished .82 behind Slavik, after the cumulative total for the two runs was calculated, for second place. The third place matchup, meanwhile, proved a hotbed of controversy after Adrien LORON (FRA) was disqualified in semi-final for a false start, forcing him to miss out on the finals. He argued he should be able to punch the gate before regrouping for a third place finish against Greg WATTS (USA). “I did it and I was DQ’d and it happens. Few runs before, someone did it and no one said anything – no one complained about it. So I said okay, if someone else can do it, I can too,” explained Loron. Bernard Kerr, Speed & Style World Championship in 2015, did not compete, having withdrawn due to shoulder injury. Kintner, who has admitted to chasing hard for the Queen of Crankworx 2016, was thrilled to take the first female win in the sport and her first win in the 2016 Crankworx World Tour season. “It’s cool to pioneer a new discipline. It’s not an easy event. These kickers are big and a lot different to what we’re used to. I’m glad it was just for speed, and not style, cause I’m sure Brown would have had something to say about that,” she said as the event ended. Men’s winner: Women’s winner: Crankworx runs from March 9-13, 2016. Events include the Rotorua Pump Track Challenge presented by RockShox, Crankworx Rotorua Downhill presented by iXS, Crankworx Rotorua Air Downhill, Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle, Mons Royale Dual Speed and Style, Official Oceania Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK and the Giant Toa Enduro. There will also be an expo at the Skyline Gravity Park, food and entertainment. Crankworx is broadcast live from Crankworx.com, Pinkbike.com and the Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle is live on Red Bull TV. Broadcast schedule:
TICKETS & VIP INFORMATION: Tickets for all events are on sale now through Crankworx.com. Media Contact: Jennifer Smith For those in New Zealand: Jenha White Images for Media are free to download off Flickr. Please credit the photographer listed in the photo information. Photo: Tomas Slavik returns to Crankworx after a five year hiatus and walks away with the win in the Mons Royale Dual Speed & Syle. ____________________________________ Mountain biking’s defining celebration descends on Skyline Rotorua Gravity Park March 9-13, 2016. Crankworx Rotorua brings the world’s downhill, slopestyle and enduro legends together with the superfans, rising stars, industry innovators and the next generation of mountain bike riders for five days of competition, concerts, and mountain bike culture. Anointed by dirt, powered by passion, the Crankworx World Tour travels to Rotorua, New Zealand, Les Gets, France and culminates in its Canadian home base of Whistler, B.C. Tread among the gravity-fed. Join the bike-minded. |