SAM HILL AND EMMELINE RAGOT TAKE TOP SPOTS IN CANADIAN OPEN DOWNHILL PRESENTED BY KONA ON FINAL DAY AT KOKANEE CRANKWORX 2009
Jerome David Receives Richard Juryn Memorial Award Recognizing Dedication And Passion For The Sport Of Mountain Biking.
WHISTLER, BC, August 16, 2009 The Canadian Open Downhill presented by Kona went off today, taking over the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. The final event of Kokanee Crankworx 2009 saw nearly 300 riders take part in the race. Each rider had one run to clock their best time on a newly redesigned, very challenging and burly DH course.
The Canadian Open DH course, designed by pro mountain biker Tyler Morland, is a technical and fast course with big gap jumps and steep drops, testing the riders skill level from top to bottom. The track dried out and riders had to push hard, says Stacey Kohut, announcer and DH racer. It was a bit loose which usually means very fast.
Crankworx is amazing, I love it, says Sam Hill, 2009 Canadian Open DH presented by Kona champ. I had to push it on this track, it was pretty loose but fast. Its great to see my teammate Brendan come second as well.
In the Pro Men category, Sam Hill(AUS) took first place for the second year in a row with a time of 3:02.56; Brendan Fairclough(GBR) took second place with a time of 3:10.73; Steve Smith(CAN) took third place with a time of 3:11.77 and Joshua Button(AUS) took fourth place with a time of 3:12.00.
This is a good track, just like the world cup tracks, says Emmilene Ragot Canadian Open DH Pro Women champ. I have raced all week so I was a little tired, but Im really happy to win.
In the Pro Women category, Emmeline Ragot(FRA) took first place with a time of 3:45.05; second place went to Micayla Gatto(CAN) with a time of 3:47.06; third place went to Clair Buchar(CAN) with a time of 3:52.99 and fourth place went to Danice Uyesugi(CAN) with a time of 4:06.48.
Introduced in 2008, the 2009 Richard Juryn Memorial Award celebrating passion, dedication and enthusiasm for the sport of mountain biking was awarded to Jerome David. Jerome dedicates his time to WORCA; volunteering; working as a patroller in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and competes in Kokanee Crankworx, he definitely deserves this award, says Seb Fremont, Operational Manager for Kokanee Crankworx.
This is awesome; Im very appreciative of the award," says Jerome, with a smile on his face. "I like to do stuff, not talk about it, so all I can say is get out there and ride!
The Canadian Open DH presented by Kona and the Richard Juryn Award marked the final day of the nine day Kokanee Crankworx 2009 festival. For more detailed results and event information please visit www.Crankworx.com and make sure to add @Crankworx via Twitter for all the latest news. Check out G0211.com for the rebroadcasting of the Giant Slalom, Monster Energy Slopestyle including the VW Best Trick live webcasts.