{"id":6830,"date":"2020-10-01T18:08:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T16:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/43ride.com\/en\/?p=6830"},"modified":"2020-10-01T18:09:27","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T16:09:27","slug":"french-riders-dominate-in-dual-slalom-at-crankworx-innsbruck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/43ride.com\/en\/events\/2020\/french-riders-dominate-in-dual-slalom-at-crankworx-innsbruck\/","title":{"rendered":"French riders dominate in Dual Slalom at Crankworx Innsbruck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thrills, spills and riding bikes with friends – the spirit of Crankworx is back with a vengeance in Innsbruck, and the Austrian festival has crowned its first champions under sunny skies, surrounded by the snowy Austrian Alps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patrick Robinson vs Adrien Dailly \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really good to be back racing. Enjoying the mountains and riding bikes with friends,\u201d<\/em> said Adrien Loron, who took the W for the pro men in today\u2019s Dual Slalom Innsbruck. The former King of Crankworx has earned many a Pump Track gold, but today claimed his first in this discipline. The iXS rider said there were some positives of the six months of down time since the last Crankworx, but that he was ready to get back after it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been good because I\u2019ve been racing for seven years now and travelling all around the world. So it\u2019s been a good thing for me to spend more time with my family and have a good rest. But then it started to feel like a pain. I was dying for a race or something to happen. It\u2019s so good to be back.<\/p>– Adrien Loron<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Adrien Loron \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the women\u2019s side, the win was the continuation of a streak of strong performances. Former Downhill World Champion (2012) turned EWS racer Morgane Charre finished her Enduro season on top, with the highest points total among the women after three races. Today\u2019s gold was icing on the cake for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so happy. I had a lot of fun on the Slalom. It was a fun event and really good to do something different, especially to finish the season. So I\u2019m really happy to be here and to take the win.<\/p>– Morgane Charre<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Morgane Charre vs Mathilde Bernard \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a win that was hard-fought and full of drama. The gold medal match up saw Charre lining up at the start gate next to fellow French racer Mathilde Bernard. Bernard has claimed the top spot in Crankworx Pump Track before, but not Slalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luana Chereches vs Mathilde Bernard \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charre, who qualified first, took the early lead after one round in the finals, but fell victim to the slippery grass corners in the final section of the track in the second.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought: \u2018Well, that\u2019s over.\u2019 But then Mathilde got disqualified as she ran over the gate, and so I won. So it was really a rollercoaster.<\/p>– Morgane Charre<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Charre will be back racing in the Downhill on Sunday, while Bernard will have three more chances for redemption. She will race in tonight\u2019s Pump Track and tomorrow\u2019s Speed & Style, before taking on Charre again on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nils Heiniger vs Luke Meier-Smith \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everybody\u2019s quite fast on the top section. It\u2019s technical, but it\u2019s fast. And then the tough thing is the gates, the flats. You better be really precise when you\u2019re braking and when you leave the brakes. You have to be really flowing around those flags to be fast and doing well.<\/p>– Adrien Loron<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In second for the men, a rider who\u2019s no stranger to Crankworx competition, but a name likely new to many watching. Australia\u2019s Luke Meier-Smith has stood atop the Crankworx podium many times before, including the Rotorua Air DH and the Garbanzo DH in Whistler. The reason for his relatively low profile on the world stage? He won the events as a Junior. Today marks his first pro podium at Crankworx, and first in Dual Slalom at a Crankworx.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m super stoked. Last year I was on my dirt jumper and I didn\u2019t make it past the Round of 32, so I\u2019m super stoked on second place.<\/p>– Luke Meier-Smith<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Fabien Cousinie vs Iago Garay \/ photo: Kike Abelleira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe top half was pretty good. The bottom corners were pretty slippery all practice and racing,\u201d<\/em> he added of the track conditions. Meier-Smith came into today with the fastest qualifying time, including a speedy 16.68 second lap. \u201cIt was pretty hard trying to find the limit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe track was awesome,\u201d<\/em> added third place finisher Bernard Kerr, who beat last year\u2019s winner Matthew Sterling to take the final podium spot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, so fun. I think all the riders had a really good time. Just stoked to be back at an event.<\/p>– Bernard Kerr<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Third place for the women went to Romania\u2019s Luana Chereches who beat out local favourite, Austrian rider Angelika Hohenwarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n