Rotorua local Jenna Hastings and Kiwi Michael Bias take podium finishes in Dual Slalom and Pump Track.
ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND November 10 – The wind was wild, the tracks tacky, but the riding was on point for the crowds who came out for a spectacular display of racing as riders battled it out in the Specialised Dual Slalom and Pump Track Challenge presented by Torpedo 7 with Michael Bias and Rotorua local Jenna Hastings making it onto the podium.
Dual Slalom is a rivalry like no other; it’s a race of speed, skill, and intimidation. This exciting head-to-head format pushes the riders to their limits as they keep one eye on the track and the other on their opponent. It is also one of the few disciplines where riders choose the style of their bike to suit their preferences, which plays into their riding skills.
The Crankworx Dual Slalom track made its debut in 2020. After rain throughout the week, the track was ready to throw some curveballs with its 450 meters of berms, rollers, tabletops and one dirty spine with winds of up to 24 km per hour during the race and a track that changed by the minute.
Coming off the back of her Taniwha Downhill silver finish, local riding legend Jenna Hastings fought it out on home soil against Caroline Buchannan to land bronze and her second trip to the podium this week. It was a fierce competition, with Hasting pulling out all the stops to beat Buchanan, (who recently took out gold in Dual Slalom in Cairns) with her whole family trackside cheering her on.
“The track changed. The top got better, the dirt got more packed, and we started moving much faster. The wind helped too, having a bit of a tailwind certainly helped because on Tuesday we had a headwind. But you had to hit the corners hard but not too hard or you’d crash, so it’s always a gamble, the corners were really challenging.”
Caroline Buchanan followed up her win in Cairns with another gold victory against Jordy Scott. Buchanan has finished first or second in every pump track event this year, adding to her Rotorua Pump Track victory in 2021, making her a two-time Rotorua Pump Track Champion.
Hastings was potentially still a bit too sticky after her champagne shower on the podium earlier in the day with Manon Veenstra using her BMX background to pull out some clean, strong pumping to snake bronze and a podium finish for her first ever Crankworx event.
Credit for Main Image: Jay French
About Crankworx Rotorua: Crankworx Rotorua took flight in March of 2015, becoming the first festival outside of North America and Europe. Since then, it’s played host to some of the most memorable moments in Crankworx history and is now referred to “the soul of Crankworx” due to the unique ability to combine riding with culture. This year, Crankworx Rotorua will once again be the final stop of the World Tour, celebrating the season’s champions, including the crowning of the King and Queen of Crankworx.
