Ryan Gilchrist and Martha Gill Triumph at Specialized Dual Slalom Innsbruck
Speed Demon Ryan Gilchrist once again demonstrated that Dual Slalom is one of his key disciplines, securing the gold medal alongside last year’s winner Martha Gill. Both athletes currently lead the King & Queen of Crankworx standings, collecting valuable points to extend their lead. The head-to-head event drew a large crowd, eager to witness the thrilling action against the picturesque backdrop of Innsbruck, Austria.
Yesterday’s gold medal match-up was replicated with Martha Gill going up against Jordy Scott, this time taking the victory by only 0.493 seconds. The crowd was cheering on local athlete Hanna Steinthaler who finished fourth behind Shania Rawson and Jordy Scott. Rawson secured her podium spot by defeating Steinthaler in the second run of the small finals. The podium reflects the current Queen of Crankworx leaderboard, with all three athletes attending the full Crankworx World Tour, vying for critical points. After finishing her winning run, repeat victor Gill remarked, “I think the courses really suit me here, just how they’re pretty loose. And yeah, stoked to put it together, because Jordy really made me push on that last one.”
On the men’s side, Ryan Gilchrist once again claimed gold after a challenging semi-final against his good pal and strong King of Crankworx contender, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene. Facing fellow Australian Jackson Frew in the final two runs, Gilchrist seemed to ignite an engine in the last run, displaying remarkable speed overcoming Frew’s lead from the first run to carve out a 0.257-second advantage. “Winning these races never gets any easier. It’s always a hard-fought battle and the nerves always come up and it always seems to be the case where the runs always get tighter, and tighter, and tighter, all the way until that final match-up. So racing is strong, and slalom is living well,” Gilchrist says, reflecting on the close battles of today’s Specialized Dual Slalom. In the small finals, reigning King of Crankworx Pene went up against Niels Bensink who earned his first-ever Dual Slalom podium on the Crankworx World Tour with a bronze medal. Speed and agility were of the essence to dominate today’s race, every hundredth of a second making a significant difference.
Specialized Dual Slalom Innsbruck – Women’s Podium
- Martha GILL (GBR)
- Jordy SCOTT (USA)
- Shania RAWSON (NZL)
Specialized Dual Slalom Innsbruck – Men’s Podium
- Ryan GILCHRIST (AUS)
- Jackson FREW (AUS)
- Niels BENSINK (NED)
Full results here.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, the Specialized Dual Slalom was moved to today due to weather-related changes. That leaves one more day to go for the final edition of Crankworx Innsbruck, highlighted by the crowd-pleaser, the Thule Slopestyle Innsbruck at 10am. Fans can watch the world’s top athletes like Emil Johansson, Dawid Godziek, and Erik Fedko perform gravity-defying tricks live on-site and on Red Bull TV.
Today’s top riders, including Martha Gill, Jordy Scott, Shania Rawson, Ryan Gilchrist, Jackson Frew, and Niels Bensink, will also make another appearance at tomorrow’s Crankworx Innsbruck Pump Track Challenge presented by Raiffeisen Club Tirol at 4pm CEST, fighting for prestigious podium spots.
Tickets for the last day of this final Crankworx Innsbruck festival are available at the gates and online. Alle events are available live on Red Bull TV.