On Saturday, July 27, Alma Wiggberg had two chances to etch her name into the annals of mountain biking. She just needed one.
Wiggberg put the rest of the 2024 Red Bull Joyride lineup on notice with an opening run that featured a suicide no-hander, a backflip barspin, a backflip one foot can and a stylish toboggan. Impressed judges graded her an 89.40, and no other woman came within 10 points of that benchmark.
Natasha Miller gave her best effort (78.60) to lock down silver, and FBMA Slopestyle World Championship overall lead Shealen Reno earned bronze (78.00), but Wiggberg is the very first female Joyride victor in history.
Although the 21-year-old seemed cool as a cucumber, she had to buckle in for one heck of a fight.
"I'm very happy with how the weekend turned out," said Wiggberg. "I was very nervous and scared of the course during the first practice day, but I'm just stoked on my riding at the end."
Those nerves are understandable. Wiggberg and company dropped in on the very same slopestyle track as their male peers: newly-minted Triple Crown athlete Dawid Godziek, runner-up Timothé Bringer and Max Fredriksson in third.
"I was not liking the course all week," Miller admitted. "I really wasn't putting anything down I was happy with. Didn't really have a run [in mind] when I dropped in today, but I kind of made it up as I went."
If Miller can put suicides and tuck no-handers into sequence off the cuff, she may quickly become an elite slopestyle contestant. She's only 17 years of age and was cutting her teeth in Whistler Blackcomb's DFX kids program not so long ago. The Coquitlam native missed a few Crankworx stops because she had to wrap up high school, but she displayed her ability to hang with anyone.
Broadcast obligations with Red Bull prevented Caroline Buchanan from joining the party, but the former BMX and mountain bike world champ was over the moon watching her fellows take off.
"I would love to be competing on this stage, however, this is an iconic moment for the ladies joining Joyride," Buchanan said on air.
A long time coming
Mountain biking as a whole is no doubt better off with women's slopestyle in the mix at last. It took years of organizational prep, community lobbying and hard work from the riders themselves, but the reward turned out to be worth the wait.
Kathi Kuypers (who made the cut as an alternate once Natalia Niedźwiedź wiped out in practice) was the first lady to test the waters and withdrew from contention after one lap to place fifth. Lisa-Marie Blanc ended up fourth, and Harriet Burbidge-Smith finished sixth after suffering unfortunate crashes in both of her attempts.
"We should definitely be here," said Wiggberg. "This is perfect, to have women on course."
The Swedish maestro has personally conquered some obstacles en route to this watershed moment. A 2021 shoulder injury sustained during a pump track event required two surgeries to properly heal, and Wiggberg spent all of last winter and then some in rehab. She missed the inaugural ladies' slopestyle competition in Rotorua, but quickly established herself as a favourite going forward.
Wiggberg's passport mirrors that of another cyclist who's had to overcome various physical ailments. You may have heard of him: Emil Johansson.
"I'm super proud," beamed the three-time slopestyle Triple Crown man. "Alma's bounced back from injury…she came in, put her foot down and said she wanted that top spot on the podium."
Whistler's heralded slopestyle venue sported, for the first time, a cannon log as its concluding feature. According to Buchanan, riders needed to make a statement with their final trick, and Wiggberg did just that.
Her breakthrough means she's punched a lifetime ticket to future Crankworx slopestyle events.
When asked in the finish corral if she had any encouraging words for the hordes of kids watching her perform, Wiggberg spoke three words: "Just keep pushing."
She certainly will be taking her own advice.
Wiggberg and Robin Goomes finished the campaign tied for second in FMBA overall points (2320). Goomes was golden in Rotorua but did not appear in Whistler. Reno stands alone above them both with 2329.6 points.
Pique Newsmagazine will also recap for you the men's side of Joyride. Check out the full results here.
