French pump track master Adrien Loron and reigning Queen of Crankworx Jill Kintner found themselves at the mercy of the BMX world Thursday, as they watched the possibility of sealing several titles concurrently slip through their fingers to champions of another sport.
BMX crossover has proven a major game-changer on the Crankworx scene this year, with X-Games mega champion Ryan Nyquist’s successful chameleon-like move to Slopestyle athlete, and BMX Olympian Caroline Buchanan giving Kintner a serious run for her money on the pump track, and in the overall Queen of Crankworx standings.
Caroline Buchanan
And this time, Buchanan brought along one heck of a wildcard when she invited the man who won Thursday’s event to become the new Ultimate Pump Track Champion presented by RockShox champion along from BMX World Champs.
Bodi Turner:
I’ve never experienced a mountain bike event, let alone Crankworx Whistler, so I thought, let’s just do it and get over here.
Buchanan invited Turner, her teammate, to give the mountain biking scene a try only two weeks ago, and he only discovered the evening’s competition would give Loron his third pump track world tour title, and the season-long King of Crankworx Crown, when he lined up at the start line.
Bodi Turner:
I was like I don’t want to be the spanner (wrench) in the works, but I’m not going to be the one to just roll and give him the championships. So you know, I just kept my head down and stayed focused the whole day.
Buchanan has certainly proven the wrench in the works for Kintner, as well. After total season domination last year, Buchanan has been breathing down the American champion’s neck at every turn in 2017, particularly on the pump track.
Adrien Loron
In fact, the pair were so close at the conclusion of the Crankworx Innsbruck event, one heat appeared a dead tie, until it could be split to the thousandth of a second. And if Kintner had won Thursday’s event, the series results would have placed the pair as each having won two rounds for a tied season.
Though it was far more to her competitor’s advantage, Buchanan advocated to use the day’s event as the defining victory.
Caroline Buchanan:
So many other sports, like motocross, BMX, whoever wins, it goes on the count on the day. And, you know, I like to put a bit of pressure on myself.
An equally fierce competitor, Kintner was clearly stung by the loss when it came. Though each woman won a heat, Buchanan was fast enough off the line in the first round of the final that Kintner just couldn’t make up the time differential, and she was shaking her head on the sidelines, after signing autographs.
Jill Kintner:
She got a pretty good snap off the top. It’s kind of like you’re just sitting there waiting for the commercials (from the live feed) and then, all of a sudden, they just hit the thing and you go… I need to be more prepared I guess.
Kintner still needs another event to seal the deal on her second Queen of Crankworx title, but for Loron, the evening’s loss represented a larger miss as the opportunity to secure the Crown was also on the line. It didn’t seem to phase him.
Jill Kintner
Adrien Loron:
Tonight I was relaxed. Maybe too relaxed. I missed the finals by 0.02, so it’s not too much.
The loss stung a little less as he, nonetheless, secured his third Pump Track World Tour Championships with his fourth-place finish, and he’s still out front in the points total for King.
Adrien Loron:
I’m still on the lip for the King of Crankworx, so yeah, it’s a pretty comfortable place to be and you gotta make it work.
His next event will be the GIANT Dual Slalom tomorrow afternoon, an event in which Kintner and Buchanan will also compete.
Caroline Buchanan & Bodi Turner
Ultimate Pump Track Challenge presented by RockShox Pro Men:
1. 
Bodi Turner
2. 
Mitch Ropelato
3. 
Michael Vias
Pro Women:
1. Caroline Buchanan
2. Jill Kintner
3. 
Joey Gough
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Official website: crankworx.com