The challenge of the Monster Energy Garbanzo Downhill was intensified by the erratic weather Sunday (Aug. 8) as the dry week turned into a wet weekend and a slippery 3,400 feet of vertical, which dried out and then got wet again when smatterings of rain came down on race day.
"It was sort of hard to judge how you should ride everything," said Squamish's Miranda Miller. "Probably the sketchiest run down In Deep I've ever had The roots were really slippery. Other than that, I don't think I've ever been that tired."
The young downhiller took the 2009 Pro Women Garbanzo title, but had to settle for second in 2010 as legendary French DH and BMX racer Anne-Caroline Chausson steamed to the top of the podium.
So was she thrilled to finally cross the finish line after such an intense battle? Hard to say - Miller said her primary thought was, "Don't puke."
Chausson finished what she called a "really hard" race in 15:59.42, beating Miller's time of 16:17.94 by more than 18 seconds.
"I made some mistakes, but not big ones," Chausson said.
Miller's victory follows on the heels of another reason to celebrate -on Friday (Aug. 6), she was named in the official announcement of the Canadian team that will challenge the world on home turf at the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., in September.
Opening Crankworx in style, Squamish's Kyle Quesnel topped the Senior Men's category in Saturday's (Aug. 7) Dual Slalom. And 麻豆社国产rider Owen Scully rebounded from two crashes in his Garbanzo DH race run to finish third in the Junior Men division at Tuesday's (Aug. 10) Canadian Open Enduro, the epic all-mountain challenge involving 3,800 vertical feet of riding and extra expending of energy in short pedalling sections.
Although he made it to the podium, Scully still didn't achieve his most desired ambition.
"I just wanted to make it down without crashes," he said.
He said last year's race was a lot easier, but admitted, "I'm not exactly as fit as I should be."
The Garbanzo made even the eventual Pro Men's champion feel a bit of butterflies before he launched.
"I was a bit nervous in the beginning, but then once I got into it, it was fine," said Aussie World Cup winner and national champion Chris Kovarik while at the base of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park Sunday (Aug. 8).
Kovarik had just finished charging through the exhausting course in 13 minutes, 22.99 seconds, of lung-searing and arm-jarring riding to knock 2009 Garbanzo DH champion Justin Leov into second place.
Despite the nerves, he thought he could produce a strong time given his experience with the challenging course from the Garbanzo lift hut to the base of the park. But the extent of his speed surprised even him a little bit.
"I've done a few times, I kind of know the track pretty well, it's just a matter of pedalling where I could and resting and just playing it smart, and then pedalling more," Kovarik said.
Rider after rider crossed the finish line with feet flashing in furious pedalling, and then chests heaving as they fought to catch their breath after giving their all on the track that's akin to four or five standard downhill courses linked together.
The most successful strategy of the day seemed to be conservative riding: Some of the top racers eased off the throttle slightly in order to make it down the technical and tiring course in one piece.
For full results and event details, check out crankworx.com.
