Mud, sweat, tears and lightning – Crankworx France, Les Gets downhill

Words and images by Saskia Dugon

Imagine a mix of mud sweat and tears. Add rain, hail and lightning to that image and you come close to what Crankworx Les Gets had to offer. Despite a week of cancelled events the Crankworx Les Gets downhill remained firmly on schedule – with the rain only making the track gnarlier!

With over 330 people signing on for practice and seeding, only 204 of those riders made it to the line for seeding. There was certainly going to be a split between those who loved the track and those who hated it. Chain Reaction Cycles Paypal rider Mike Jones seeded in 1st place, probably thanks to years of wet, Welsh hillsides. With only 1.56 seconds between them, Brendan Fairclough seeded closely in 3rd showing that all the sloppy loam riding in the surrey hills over winter, paid off as training for this race.

Mike Jones Chain Reaction Cycles Crankworx
Chain Reaction Cycles rider Michael Jones seeded in first place, being used to the wet and sloppy conditions of the Welsh Valleys.

In the Elite Womens field, it was Aussie national champ Tracey Hannah which took the win over Morganne Charre by a mere 0.32 seconds, whilst 3rd place Jill Kintner had some catching up to do being over 19 seconds behind.

Tracey Hannah Crankworx DH France
Choosing the line around the road gap may not have looked the fastest, but it paid off for Tracey Hannah in seeding, landing herself to be the last woman down the hill come race day.

Specialized junior rider Fin Illes took a hefty crash in seeding meaning that he lost the speed needed to cross the river gap and had to opt for the chicken line river crossing, despite that he still managed to grab a 4th place in seeding.

Finn Illes Crankworx
Finn Illes getting back on track after taking a tumble before the River Gap during Seeding runs.

Wideopen Test rider Monet Adams took quite a tumble during seeding, along with a large number of riders, men and women. It was a real test of who could stay rubber side down to the finish line, never mind actually going fast.

Monet was out testing her new Scott Gambler Wideopen demo – you can read more about that this week or watch her recent video here.

“Although the terrain varied, the common factor was that it was soaking wet! The best thing to do was just put your preconceptions or worries aside and ride your bike”

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Monet Adams

Wideopenmag Monet Adams Scott Gambler
Monet pushing herself and her new Scott Gambler test bike through the tough conditions.
The clouds were low over the mountains on Race Morning and dropped a fresh batch of rain to the track.
The clouds were low over the mountains on Race Morning and dropped a fresh batch of rain to the track.
Unphased by his crash, Finn Illes was ready to get back on the bike.
Unphased by his crash, Finn Illes was ready to get back on the bike.

2016 Crankworx France DH (18 of 24)

2016 Crankworx France DH (8 of 24)
Those who struggled with the river gap were forced to take the ‘chicken line’ which took the riders straight through the river.
Morganne Charre took the win in the Elite women with an astounding 25 seconds taking a win on home soil.
Morganne Charre took the win in the Elite women with an astounding 25 seconds taking a win on home soil.
It was a tight call between Emilie Siegenthaler and Tracey Hannah with a mere 0.5 of a second between 2 nd and 3 rd place.
It was a tight call between Emilie Siegenthaler and Tracey Hannah with a mere 0.5 of a second between 2nd and 3rd place.
Team Specialized Gravity’s rider Finn Illes overcame yesterdays crash and took the top step in the Junior category. Closely followed by FMD-Racing’s Joe Parfitt and Kaos Seagrave.
Team Specialized Gravity’s rider Finn Illes overcame his crash and took the top step in the Junior category. Closely followed by FMD-Racing’s Joe Parfitt and Kaos Seagrave.

2016 Crankworx France DH (17 of 24)

2016 Crankworx France DH (19 of 24)

2016 Crankworx France DH (2 of 24)

Brendan Fairclough improved on his seeding time and managed to slide himself into 2 nd place, just over 2 seconds behind the winner, Remi Thirion.
Brendan Fairclough improved on his seeding time and managed to slide himself into 2nd place, just over 2 seconds behind the winner, Remi Thirion.
2016 Crankworx France DH (21 of 24)
Man of the match Remi Thirion took the fastest time of the day and the elite win. On his day, he’s unstoppable.

Just as the racing finished off, the rain rolled in, it was possibly the only time that the weather had held off long enough for the riders to enjoy a day at Crankworx Les Gets. Lets hope for better weather in Whistler Crankworx!

 


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