Jenna Hastings and Martha Gill tackle the Specialized Dual Slalom Rotorua course. Photo / Clint Trahan
The weekend was packed with mountain biking thrills and action as Crankworx Rotorua turned up the heat.
The first victors of Crankworx Rotorua 2021 were rewarded on Friday, after competitors took on the CLIF Speed & Style, followed by the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill.
New Zealand rider Billy Meaclem won the men's Speed & Style.
The key for Meaclem was keeping it consistent, with the right mix of tricks and speed to bring home the final title.
"It's pretty surreal," he said.
"It's just a really fun day riding with everyone. This is one of my favourite events. You get to go really fast with your bike and still have fun doing tricks."
"It's been a long time since I've ridden a Crankworx event. I've been stuck in the country since Covid happened. It's been pretty cool to be back riding with all the pros again."
Rotorua rider Louis Hamilton won the men's Crankworx Rotorua Downhill event.
Hamilton clocked 2:51.038, which was good enough for first place. After his race the skies opened, which might have proved the difference with the rest of the field forced to battle through the wet.
"In the gate, it wasn't really raining," Hamilton said.
"Maybe 30 seconds into it the goggle lens started filling up with a bit of rain. I entered the forest with a few speckles on the lens but I could see. There weren't too many issues with vision. Certainly, coming out into the open it was wet."
Rotorua's Tuhoto-Ariki Pene placed fourth and commented on the awesome feeling of racing on his tribal mountain (Ngongotahā) and to be next to his family and friends after months of globe-trotting racing.
Pene felt that he pushed himself despite the weather conditions.
The women's Downhill winner was Rotorua's Jenna Hastings, who has been working her way up the ranks as a teen, securing wins on youth podiums.
"It's unreal," the 17-year-old said.
"I had a bit of a mistake at the top…slipped a pedal, clipped my ankle. I just tried to hold it together the rest of the way and it went pretty smoothly."
Hastings crossed the line in 3:15.842, more than six seconds ahead of Rotorua's Shania Rawson (second) and Canada's Casey Brown (third).
The second day of live action from Crankworx Rotorua - Saturday - saw a mix of downhill specialists, free riders, multi-disciplinarians, BMX Olympians and enduro specialists stake their claim on the festival and step onto two podiums.
The live action events included Rockshox Rotorua Pump Track Challenge.
Kiwi mountain biker Brook Macdonald earned his first win since a devastating back injury in 2019. His win in the Dual Slalom was also his first podium in the discipline at Crankworx.
Alongside him, Kialani Hines earned her first, in her words, "official" Crankworx Dual Slalom podium. She won the event in SilverStar at Crankworx British Columbia in Canada but it was a win based on qualifying results.
Earlier in the day, Bas van Steenbergen earned a first as well. His Pump Track victory was his first in the discipline at Crankworx.
For the women's Pump Track winner, it was a return to a familiar spot. Caroline Buchanan marked her return to Crankworx with her sixth Pump Track win.
Rotorua riders also turned up the heat in these events, with Pene and Hastings taking second-place positions in their Dual Slalom events. Hastings finished third in the women's Pump Track Challenge event. Meaclem took second in the Pump Track Challenge.
Yesterday'saction included the Maxxis Slopestyle.
Event director Ariki Tibble said it had been a tumultuous 20 months leading into Crankworx Rotorua 2021, with a lot of challenges along the way.
He said after all those challenges he wasn't expecting that one of the biggest they would face during the event would be the weather.
However, they had been able to deliver on almost all of their broadcasting and being able to hold the event had felt surreal, he said.
Tibble said there had been pleasing results throughout the week for New Zealand riders.
"Some who were teenagers when the first Crankworx Rotorua happened, and some who still are, have worked their way up the ranks and are now competing with the best in the world.
"It's just incredible to see."
He said they were extremely grateful for all of the local support.
"This year wasn't the event I wanted for our community to be able to enjoy, but we are focused on making sure we bring it all back in the future."
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.