WHISTLER, BC July 19, 2011 – With only one run to make his mark, Sam Blenkinsop (NZL) made an incredible recovery after hitting a tree to take the Pro Men win in the Garbanzo Downhill with a time of 13:44.52.
“That was hard. I hit a tree and it knocked all the wind out of me,” said an out of breath Blenkinsop at the bottom of the course. “It took me awhile to breath again after I got back on my bike. Compared to this race, the World Cup Downhills feel pretty easy. This is much longer than usual DH races, you can't ride it 100 per cent all the way down.”
Another racer putting on the power, and linking together a good run, was Whistler local Claire Buchar who won the Pro Women’s category with a time of 16:06.68.
The Garbanzo DH is an epic course when the conditions are ideal so the variable conditions the racers had to deal with today made the course extra challenging. Cold and wet conditions up top transitioned to extremely slippery roots and rocks on the mid-mountain and then merged with dry conditions on the bottom. The racers had to constantly adapt to the ever-changing conditions but the weather stayed consistent for the entire race, giving the athletes a level playing field from the first to the last rider.
In the Pro Men category 1st Sam Blenkinsop13:44.52; 2nd Marcelo Gutierrez Villega 13:57.23; 3rd Jack Reading 13:58.44. In the Pro Women category 1st Claire Buchar 16:06.68; 2nd Manon Carpenter 16:13.82; 3rd Miranda Miller 16:55.00.
Full event results at this link: http://www.crankworx.com/index.php/results/kokanee-crankworx/2011-results/47-2011-results
The Garbanzo Downhill is a 3,400’ arm-pumping, finger-cramping, unrelenting descent from the top of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park to the valley bottom. The course snakes through some of the most challenging and aggressive terrain available in Whistler.
2011 Garbanzo DH
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