Newly-minted Speed and Style victors David Lieb and Caroline Buchanan were at different points in their Crankworx careers going into Friday's event.
Everyone knows who Buchanan is: the two-time Queen of Crankworx, three-time BMX world titleholder and five-time mountain bike world champ who has seen and done it all.
Lieb isn't a spring chicken either. The Ida, Mich. native hails from a BMX background also and made his Crankworx debut seven years ago, but unlike Buchanan he's never tasted triumph until now.
July 26 was Lieb's big day, as he took down Speed and Style savant Garrett Mechem for his inaugural gold medal in any Crankworx discipline. Jackson Frew, meanwhile, continued his ascent up the season-long King rankings with bronze.
"It's been a full-circle moment, because the first time I ever came to Whistler in 2017 I completely crashed out in Speed and Style," Lieb recalled. "Didn't even make it past qualifying. After all these years learning and learning, getting better, climbing the ladder, it just feels so good to finally stand on the top step."
Buchanan outdueled Jordy Scott in the ladies' championship final, with Scott getting on the board at last with a silver medal in Whistler. Kaia Jensen held down third in a small women's field, with Martha Gill pulling out to fit in some extra rest.
"Such an incredible night of racing," Buchanan remarked. "The fans on the Whistler hill always turn out in crowds, and I feel like it's easy to perform when you've got that audience. I've got my sponsors here, like Maxxis and Trek Bicycles, and my mum's come all the way from Australia. I love performing, and I just try to take it one event at a time."
'Time and experience'
Lieb faced two starkly contrasting stylistic challenges en route to his maiden breakthrough.
In the semifinal, he took on Frew: who makes up for his lack of aerial prowess with high horsepower and razor-sharp handling. The Australian, unsurprisingly, put up the five fastest lap times of the competition.
It isn't easy for downhillers to outrun the point-scoring advantage of their more acrobatic foes, but Frew's velocity can force his opponents into mistakes under duress. Lieb felt the heat and didn't land every trick as cleanly as he would have liked to.
"What can you do when you're racing a guy that fast?" the American asked rhetorically. "Honestly, it's so distracting when Frew's just pulling away from you, but you have to really regroup your brain and think smart."
Lieb passed the test by way of his superior stunts, but he knew that Mechem awaited in the gold medal bout. The rider called "Lil Rojo" has dominated Speed and Style for years and is the 2023 Whistler champ with a blend of skills to give anyone a run for their money.
Fortunately, Lieb was in possession of valuable intel. He and Mechem have known each other for six years, and he'd lost to Lil Rojo in a 2019 quarterfinal at Crankworx Rotorua. Both men understand each other well, on and off the track.
"David's one of the best bike riders I know," Mechem said. "He's so naturally talented and he's one of my good buddies. We do a bunch of stuff together, we travel everywhere together, we talk s—t and it's epic."
One could also use the word 'epic' to describe Lieb and Mechem's Boneyard battle. They matched either trick for splendid trick in both heats: 360 triple barspins, quadruple combos, you name it. Yet Lieb managed to hold serve, and the day's highest-scoring athlete peaked at the right time.
"'Learn from your mistakes' is the biggest advice I can give," said Lieb, who crashed in last year's contest. "You've just got to stay calm, check off your laps and rely on the skill that you've worked really hard to develop. Time and experience pays off."
'Huge inspiration'
Going into Whistler, Scott was just eight points behind Queen of Crankworx top dog Gill. Unfortunately, the Nevadan had a forgettable start to the week: 13th in the Garbanzo DH, 16th in Air DH and 10th at dual slalom.
Known as a positive individual, Scott soldiered on with a smile on her face.
"I try to remind myself, whenever I'm not having a good time, that I'm in a different country riding my mountain bike and that's my life right now," she said. "Just take it one moment at a time, try to be in the present and not think about the last not-so-great race that happened."
Scott used her semifinal bye to feel out the course and ready herself for what turned out to be a matchup with Buchanan. The reigning Queen is always difficult to defeat and jumped out to a notable lead in run no. 1.
Going for broke in her last attempt, Scott committed to a 360 at higher speeds than she'd ever tried one before. She over-rotated and was forced to dismount upon landing, which gave Buchanan the win running away. Nonetheless, silver is silver.
"I've been trying to get medals at every event this year," Scott explained. "I was a little bit bummed not getting one in slalom, but hopefully getting one today will keep the ball rolling for pump track.
"I grew up racing BMX when Caroline was at the top of her game in BMX, and so it's been super awesome to compete against her over the years. It's just a huge inspiration."
The Aussie icon also holds a great deal of respect for Scott.
"Jordy's a strong competitor and I knew she had that 360 in the bag," said Buchanan. "I knew if she was going to do it, I was going to counter with an opposite barspin on the last jump that would have scored 100. I was prepared, but luckily I didn't have to. Unfortunate for Jordy, going down."
Full results are available here.
