Zeus Would’ve Been Proud
At this years Crankworx there was yet another new event on the mountain for folks to enjoy. It was a marriage between the huge, fast action of last years 4x, and the tight, flowy party of dual slalom. Giant Bikes stepped up to the alter and produce the two races the Giant Slalom. For Video and Story
Video shot and edited by Miles Sullivan of Shovelpick Productions
Music by Sideline Hero
The course utilized much of the 4x track from last year with some new additions to mesh the dual slalom aspects in, such as tight and close berms, and quick whoops to pump. The course was raced two riders at a time (hence the “dual” in dual slalom) which the crowd seemed to enjoy more compared to the 4x last year. There was an intimate feeling with this Giant Slalom.
The riders were front and center producing excitement at every jump, whoop, and berm. After a few hours of racing and eliminations, we were left with the final four–Gee Atherton, Brian Lopes, Greg Minaar, and Guito Tschugg. First up was the battle for bronze with Atherton and Tschugg. Both were racing tire to tire. The gap between them never got more than a couple feet apart. The final run had a nice twist however. On one of the last turns Tschugg, who’s known for racing with a little angst, tried to give Gee a little nudge. Gee displayed how strong of a racer he is though, and stayed strong which left Tschugg losing his balance and falling to the dirt. To say the least the crowd went nuts.
Next up was the final race. The bloody, pedal kicking, tear shedding battle for the super silver and the glorious gold. Lopes and Minaar. Two racing powerhouses that would rival Haliburton if given the chance, and the government funding. The anticipation was rabid throughout the crowd. With the drop of the gate Lopes had a little slip just like he’d had earlier in the day during the qualifiers. He was right on Minaar though despite the pedal problem. Neck and neck, nose and nose, toe and toe, however you choose to put it, this was close. Close until about the third berm where Lopes went down hard. Minaar kept going for about fifty feet, then realizing his opponent and friend was down, got off his bike to run up and check on Lopes.
I’ve got to say, this was really cool. The camaraderie of these two racers was in full fire. Greg would rather stop and check on his friend than just get a fast and easy win. This is something that I feel is unique to Mountain Biking and maybe a handful of other sports. You rarely see a racer check on his opponent if that opponent goes down. It was a really good moment, and said a lot about what we, simple mountain bikers, are made of. After the pat on the back from Lopes, Minaar styled down the rest of the track to loud cheers and a Gold in the first ever Giant Slalom.
The Giant Giant slalom came with giant crashes, giant cheers, and giant wins, but there were rarely any giant gaps between the riders. Everyone was on their A+ game and shredding. I really hope this event stays on the roster for next years Crankworx because I was stoked it was on it this year.
Words by Matt Harris…
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