Tom 'Pro' discusses Crankworx 2007

What was the deal behind the transition for the Jumbotron drop in last night’s Slopestyle?

Definitely the feedback from the riders was that it was a bit too flat but there were other issues – if we were to build it up, it would be too much of a snipe trany so it’s a real trade off but I think that’s something we’ve got to work on next year for sure. We got the feedback 5 minutes before the comp was going to start that all the riders thought the trany was too flat. Basically we decided – everyone decided - the riders included that there was nothing we could really do about it so let’s just ride it and do our best.

Any surprises that took place this week for you? Things that you didn’t see coming or were unexpected in the comp.

The kids, the 16-year-olds, really stepped it up – Brandon Semenuk, Kyle McDonald, Alex Pro. I thought they really rode quite well for the conditions, for the course. It was a burly course with some pretty burly obstacles on it. Sure it was criticized that it was too burly to trick but you’ve still got to ride the course.

Were you surprised about the Giro box and how the riders rode it this year?

That thing’s knarly!  Ya, for sure. I quite enjoyed it and I think if the riders wrapped their head around it and if they really practiced a lot I think a lot of the top guys would do something off it like 3 or no foot can off it or something like that. But I don’t know.  I have to say the riders kind of put themselves into a bummer because they started complaining and then I think they just weren’t in a good space of mind.

And it’s such a mental sport.

Yes it is. And you know what I’m not dissing the riders because they’re the ones who have to ride the course. So I don’t really have a quick answer for it all. I’m proud of all the riders that rode the course.

How is trail maintenance with the number of racers not to mention the riders in the park – I hear there’s an average of 1700 people going through the park right now and that’s up from 1200 last year during Crankworx?

We had three days of over 1700 and the last two days were over 2000.  That’s pretty substantial.  It’s something we can’t really plan. We don’t know how many people we’re going to have but for sure over the next couple of weeks it’s going to be serious maintenance in the park.

What event do you enjoy the most?

I enjoyed the Slopestyle – just how big everything is. The Garbanzo race – how knarly was that. I can’t really pick favourites.  I’m looking forward to the downhill – I’m going to go up and watch it. It’s a pretty demanding course but my view is that this isn’t mini golf. This is the Canadian Open and this is where we invite the best pros in the world and we need to give them a challenging course and everyone I’ve talked d to likes it.

Were you impressed with how the girls rode in Womenzworx?

I didn’t get to watch it because I was so busy but I know how those girls ride. I know a lot of those girls and I’m impressed for sure and I think it’s one of those things it would be so cool to do more of.

How does this Crankworx compare to previous ones?

Numbers wise I think it’s bigger, way bigger.  

Is there anything you’d like to see different for next year?

Maybe a steeper landing for the last drop. We change up the Slopestyle course every year.  Maybe we’ve got to look back at what we think is the best course and follow that footprint but all in all it was pretty good. And something has to be done about helping people who want to ride the park get up the mountain a little better. There were long line-ups but there is only so much capacity that these two lifts have down here. Our solution is to build more trails in Garbanzo.  Because once people go up into Garbanzo you don’t see them for half the day. They’re gone. So if we can accomplish that then we’ll take care of the overcrowding down here.

Have you had a pretty social week?

O ya. I’m pretty much done. I actually stayed away from the parties in the middle of the week but went out last night to the Summit party – that’s always a good one. 

Did you see any of the video premiers?

I saw the New World Disorder premier, the Oakley movie and Blake Jorgensen’s Nepal slide show with Richie and Wade.  That was really good.  Spectacular.  The Oakley movie was pretty cool.  My kid’s in it. It’s something you put on and watch at home to really get into. They had a really cool trip down to Oregon when they shot that.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I want to see Crankworx get even better and there’s a lot of effort that goes into it - a lot of volunteers and a lot of people that put in a lot of time and they should be thanked. I think it was a really good event.