There was a respite in the weather today and it was nothing but sunshine and balmy temperatures, almost tropical. Okay maybe not balmy, but the sun poked it's head through the clouds and with temperatures in the teens you could ride in just a long sleeve jersey and be quite comfortable.
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| Mondays always seem a little slow at Crankworx and this year was no different. It is a great time to spin some laps in the Bike Park and enjoy the mostly quiet trails. |
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| Mondays are a great day for catching up with friends. Bobby McMullen and Heidi Suchard made the long journey up from California to catch up with some local fiends (and to ride bikes of course). |
The trails were drying out and it was fast, berms were grippy and just begging to be railed while the rocks were almost dry and the roots were manageable -at least on the lower mountain. The upper mountain is still a mud bog and soupy is a great word to describe the conditions that racers were faced with while hitting up their training laps for the one of the longest, gnarliest downhills that is held each year. Guys and gals were hitting up top to bottoms in preparation for the Garbanzo Downhill tomorrow. Anticipation is high as everyone is getting amped up to see who will be the one to hold it together and nail the fastest line on a long, tough course. Gee Atherton is always a threat in anything that he enters, then there is the young gun Troy Brosnan who has been slaying giants and is a serious threat to all who enter this race.
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| Two threats for the Garbanzo Endurance Downhill Troy Brosnan (left) and local ripper Kenny Smith (right). |
You can never discount all the others that are here either, Brendan Fairclough's loose style is made for the Garbanzo course, hot locals like Kenny Smith know the track top to bottom like the back of their hand and Stevie Smith has been posting impressive results on the World Cup circuit this year and is fresh off his win Sunday in the Canadian Open so his confidence must be high. This is sure to be a very entertaining race.
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| A Line was closed so racers could get in some training laps in the late afternoon. |
Monday's are always a slower day on the Crankworx schedule, bike companies are still rolling into town and most use this as a day to catch up with their bros and lay down some fast laps in the Whistler Bike Park before the onslaught of riders come out to play as the week wears on. With no events or races on the schedule people were testing bikes and soaking up the sunshine while taking in the trails in what is arguably the best bike park in the world.
Though there may have not been any events on the schedule the Deep Summer photographers and their riders were hard at work as they took advantage of the break in the dismal weather that has plagued the Whistler area for the first few days of Kokanee Crankworx 2011. With the dark skies and rain you can be sure it was a long day of shooting followed up by an even longer night of editing to put together the magic that will be shown on Wednesday night as the slideshows are unveiled to all those who managed to get their greasy little hands on tickets.
It is game on Tuesday as the festival moves into full swing with a full roster of racing for the remainder of the week and the crowds will be starting to descend upon the little mountain town of Whistler as everyone gets wound up for the big show on Saturday.
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| Even the bears were chillin', enjoying the sun and a relaxed day before the mayham starts. |
