CRANKWORX SUMMER SERIES CANADA 2022: BAS VAN STEENBERGEN & SHEALEN RENO WIN THE SERIES OVERALL

The 2022 season of the Crankworx Summer Series Canada has officially wrapped and the top five overall series leaders for each age category are now released. American, Shealen Reno and Canadian, Bas Van Steenbergen will take the overall series in the open category, and each have earned an overall series prize purse of $2,000 CAD.

For a seasoned Crankworx athlete such as Bas Van Steenbergen, the Crankworx Summer Series Canada served as a great opportunity to train and reset between Crankworx World Tour stops.

Bas Van Steenbergen’s winning run at the Crankworx Summer Series Canada – Quebec City Air DH race at Vallée Bras-du-Nord. | Photographer: Philippe Marceau

“The beginning of the summer series at SilverStar was mostly just for me to have a good warm-up before Crankworx Whistler,” Bas recounts his experience with the full series. “It was the perfect warm-up and it was really fun. I definitely thought all the racing in SilverStar went pretty well except when I crashed on the Air DH race there. When the opportunity came to race here at the Quebec stop, I was super stoked to race and come to Quebec and check out all of these five mountains. Winning the races was definitely a nice bonus.”

The Crankworx Summer Series Canada played a different role for the American, up and coming rider, Shealen Reno.

Newcomer to the women’s freeride scene, Shealen Reno. Reno participated in the Crankworx Slopestyle Session at SilverStar Bike Park during Crankworx Summer Series Canada – SilverStar just to give it a try, and instantly became hooked. That session changed the trajectory of her riding plans and is now competing in as many slopestyle events as she can. | Photographer: Jake Paddon

“My plans for the future have actually changed completely within the past few months,” Reno said of her experience with Crankworx Summer Series Canada. “I want to go home and get an airbag and just learn as many tricks as possible. I really never thought about doing slopestyle before and then when I was in SilverStar, I got invited for the women’s only gold course jam session and I fell in love with it! All the girls told me there was going to be an event at Big White to follow, and I thought ‘I have to go to that’. Now I’m so fired up with this, it’s so much fun. I come from BMX racing and Pump Track and that’s been the main route that I have taken. Now I’m realizing how much I love and want to progress in Slopestyle as well as Speed & Style.”

Paving the path for progression is and always will be the cornerstone of Crankworx Summer Series events. Crankworx Summer Series Canada 2022 brought together pinned locals, top amateurs, and up-and-coming youngsters, as well as some of the top riders in the world to SilverStar and Quebec City.

The first and second place positions for each age category of the following events at Crankworx Summer Series Canada: SilverStar earned a guaranteed entry into the same category and discipline Crankworx Whistler 2022: Dual Slalom, Air DH, and Pump Track. The first and second place positions for each age category of the following events at Crankworx Summer Series Canada: Quebec City have earned a guaranteed entry into the same category and discipline at Crankworx Whistler 2023: Air DH and Dual Slalom.  

Here’s what a few of the other series leaders had to say about Crankworx Summer Series Canada and their overall impression on how it serves athlete progression.

Kirsten Van Horne on her way to winning second place at Crankworx Summer Series Canada – SilverStar Air DH. | Photographer: Clint Trahan

“This is my first proper podium and I was kind of nervous because I didn’t know how to do the champagne part!” Kirsten Van Horne said after her first podium at the Air DH race in Silverstar. “The big reason why I came to the summer series here in SilverStar was to learn and get used to Crankworx level events. Yesterday I got to do my first chainless gate, and the day before first start gate, so getting amongst people and how they go about their day leading up to it. So, it’s been a really good stepping stone for sure. The competition is stiff and these girls are insane, like you look up to them, so given the chance to compete against them has been a wealth of knowledge and experience.”

“I would love to spend a bit more time over the next year getting more comfortable on jumps like the cannon logs and the drops that you don’t see in Speed & Style. I would love to do a few more bronze and silver slopestyle competitions, slowly work my way up.” Jayden Fleming said of competing in a bronze-level slopestyle competition for the first time at Crankworx Summer Series Canada – Quebec City at Sentiers du Moulin. Photographer: Etienne Dionne

“For Quebec, it’s not a huge dirt jumping and trick scene so it was great to see the local guys getting their feet wet in a proper slope competition,” said Jayden Fleming of his thoughts on the Slopestyle Competition at Sentiers du Moulin. “I think the community were pretty stoked to see riders visit from out of town and see what tricks they were throwing down and a lot of them hadn’t seen tricks like that in real life.”

“There was a lot of young riders and this for sure has helped with their progression,” Jean Lefrancois commented on Crankworx Summer Series Canada’s stop in Quebec City. “Every race that an athlete can register and race is only going to help them further progress in their riding and ability. These  races have been a great stepping stone to help riders get to their ‘next level’. In Quebec, the majority of bike races are cross-country, enduro and downhill, so to have slalom, pump track, and slopestyle, it’s a great skill that young riders really should develop. These skills will even help these young riders when racing in those more mainstream disciplines like enduro, downhill and cross country or whatever path they choose.”

The final champagne war of the Crankworx Summer Series Canada. Who will join us at the podiums for next year’s Crankworx Summer Series Canada? | Photographer: Etienne Dionne

Crankworx Summer Series Canada 2022 Series Leaders

Open Category:

  1. Shealen Reno (USA) // Bas Van Steenbergen (CAN)
  2. Harriet Burbidge-Smith (AUS) // Jackson Frew (AUS)
  3. Vaea Verbeeck (CAN) // Keegan Wright (NZL)

CWNEXT U19 Category:

  1. Natasha Miller (CAN) // Andrew Pickard (CAN)
  2. Lauren Damon (USA) // Will Curry (CAN)
  3. Justin Siever (CAN)

CWNEXT U17 Category:

  1. Isla O’Connor (CAN) // Hayden Damon (USA)
  2. Gabrielle Sterckx (CAN) // Charles Paradis (CAN)
  3. Xavier Letendre (CAN)

CWNEXT U15 Category:

  1. Tayte Proulx-Royds (CAN) // Drew Solmes (CAN)
  2. Zoe Witwicki (CAN) // Oliver Astin (CAN)
  3. Pearl Fogel (CAN) // Theo Bedard (CAN)

Event-specific results of Crankworx Summer Series Canada can be found here, and overall series leaders can be found here. Follow us on Instagram @crankworxsummerseries_CA for all the latest information and updates about the 2023 Crankworx Summer Series Canada.