August 13th, 2010 11:21pm
The first event on the agenda after arriving in Whistler BC was the Big Air DH. Run on Whistlers most famous trail -" A Line" - a 2 mile, jump trail featuring pure speed and cornering. Brian Lopes has had a virtual lock on this event for something like 6 years and was looking to continue his streak.
A master at bike handliing and minimizing air time over jumps, Lopes is simply the best bike handler. I have seen him race numerous times and he is pure poetry in motion. Lopes can generate speed from anything or anypart of the course. In this photo, Brian is carrying a solid 20 ft table top while keeping his bike no more than 2-3 feet off the ground.
The air apparent in my book is Mitch Ropaloto. He is super fast in every aspect of his riding. Notice the brace on his right wrist. The remains of an previous crash still healing. Mitch managed a solid 14th place and then went on to win the pump track contest the next day. Mitch is going to take some time off the bike to get his body healed up for the World Cup in Windham and World Championships at Mt. St. Anne - Quebec.
Steve Smith is Canada's best hope in the upcoming world championships. Here he is railing his Evil bike on one of A-lines high speed corners.
Anothe of the youthful wonders and future of MTB racing. Monster Energy Dring pilot Troy Brosnan throws down a fast time in a stacke field. FInishing just inside the top ten, Troy is one of the wonder kids to watch.
Final Results for the Big Air Downhill are
1. Brian Lopes
2. Sam Blenkinsop
3. Gee Atherton
You can find all the Crankworx Event Results here: www.crankworx.com/whistler/live-blog/2010-results
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