Crankworks Whistler and Team Updates

Newsletter Volume 1.2

ORG CAN OPN DH
Crankworx Whistler is in full steam. On Sunday, the Original Canadian Open DH kicked off on a track that combined the famous Whistler rock slabs with high speed loam tech that challenges not only bikes but also riders. In Elite Men, Luke Meier Smith out of Australia took the win in a close, nail biting finish with a time of 2:45.004, just two tenths of a second faster than second place Jackson Frew. In Elite Women, Kailey Skelton, the winner in seeding, had a crash that took her out of the running, leaving room for Norway’s Millie Johnset to take the win with a 3:12.573 and an impressive 3.897 second margin over silver medallist Emmy Lan. Indy Deavoll rounded out the podium to take bronze, adding to her collection of two silver medals this season. Zanna Logar, a Future Frameworks racer out of the US, placed sixth, narrowly missing her first Crankworx podium.

Garbanzo DH
Later in the week, on Monday, the Garbanzo DH took place, where some of the best riders in the world descended the 3,500 vertical feet from the Garbanzo lift. This trail is one of the longest and most renowned in the world, stirring up the pot for some loose, gnarly, and exciting racing. The 4.5 mile course challenges even the elites, yet the youth, amateur, and adaptive athletes all take on the aggressive terrain. In Elite Women, the United States’ own Athleta Ostgard took the win with a 14:05.149, claiming her first gold in the elite categories. Behind her were Georgia Astle (14:18.117) and Emmy Lan (14:40.434), both from Canada. In Elite Men, Richie Rude secured the fastest time of the day with a 12:08.870 and once again came out strong for the Americans, taking the win. In second came Ryan Gilchrist with a 12:22.733 despite battling a wrist injury, and close behind was Luke Meier Smith (12:24.283), fresh off his Original Canadian Open win.

Air DH
On Tuesday, the Air DH saw racers of all skill levels take on the famous Whistler jump line A Line, the ultimate test of scrubs, cornering speed, and guts. Riders need to stay low, clean, and confident because mistakes are hard to recover from. Anneke Bertten, the first queen of Crankworx, returned to race in the Elite Women category. Bertten helped shape Crankworx into what it is today and laid the foundation for women’s mountain biking. In the women’s race, Jenna Hastings, a Pivot team rider, took first place with a 4:43.461, following up her win in Rotorua. Behind her was Taylor Ostgaard (4:47.747), with Amy Morrison just 0.029 seconds behind Ostgaard. In the men’s race, Richie Rude claimed another victory, followed by teammate Tyler Waite with a time of 4:18.509, and Dane Jewett, who finished with a 4:18.817.

More

After Wednesday’s Whip-Off, riders have now shifted their focus to the DH race on 1199, with practice already underway.

Panono Team

As for the Panono Racing Team, two of our racers, Tucker Barrett and Jackson Attianase, entered our first race, the Gravity Carolinas DH, Round 2 at Ride Rock Creek. Unfortunately, Jackson crashed during morning practice, going over a berm. He cracked his helmet and injured his neck and head, which took him out of the race. However, Tucker still competed and put down a solid run, finishing P10 out of 34 quick racers.

We are currently working with Cased to design our jerseys. The design is complete and has been sent to their production team, and we are looking forward to seeing the final product. We will keep you updated on our jerseys, Instagram, and more! Our first Instagram post should be coming in the next couple of weeks, and definitely by the end of the month, so start getting excited, Panono fans!

Thank you for reading,

Poppy Bell

New Uci Locations and Half link chain

Newsletter Volume 1.1

August 8, 2025

Good morning, race fans,

Firstly, and arguably the most important news, UCI just announced not one but two new locations to the 2026 UCI season. The first location that they announced is PyeongChang, which is a ski town in the north of South Korea. This is a big deal because it is the first time in 25 years that the UCI circus has been brought to Asia. PyeongChang will host all of the amazing sects of mountain biking that are to offer, downhill, XC, and enduro, so be ready for some action on new tracks. The second location that was announced is Soldier Hollow, Utah. Soldier Hollow is also a ski resort, however, not a normal ski resort, a world-class Olympic ski resort. Meaning that we will be seeing some gnarly tracks on all downhill, enduro, and xc tracks.

Big news from SRAM as well, they just patented a half-link chain design that is supposed to speed up shifting by up to two times. Unfortunately, SRAM didn’t wrap us up into some specific transmission or derailleur, or even brand. This chain is designed to fit nearly every large cassette manufacturer. For example, names like Shimano, SRAM, rotor, and Micro Shift all fit the chain. Unlike traditional chains, which alternate inner and outer links, this design uses symmetrical links for finer length adjustments and better chainring alignment, which makes it especially ideal for single-speed bikes.

Thank you for reading,

Dutch Bell