Triple-Action at Crankworx Cairns with Speed & Style, Whip-Off and Pump Track Challenge

Cairns, May 25, 2024 – Super Saturday at Crankworx Cairns was a whirlwind of action, featuring Speed & Style, the Australian Whip-Off Championships, and the Crankworx Cairns Pump Track Challenge, making it a busy day for athletes. By the end of the day, Garret Mechem, Jordy Scott, Ryan Gilchrist, and Katie Lawrance stood atop the podiums, with one, some even two gold medals in their bag.

The tropical rainforest once again displayed its full range of weather variations. As the sun rose into blue skies over the Coral Sea, athletes geared up for the first event of the day, Speed & Style. Garret Mechem and Jordy Scott claimed the top spots, with Italian Daniele Ferri and Martha Gill finishing second, and Katie Lawrance and Jackson Frew taking third place. This marked Frew’s third bronze medal in this third event of the festival. Reflecting on his consistent performance, Frew said, “Yeah, another double day today. It’s getting a little bit old getting third best man of the day, but this is awesome, and I’m stoked to keep this going and Pump Track is going to be fun.” Garret ‘Lil Rojo’ Mechem convinced with a combination of speed and style in the closing run of the finals. Rain showers during the event made the course a little slippery, prompting the female athletes to unanimously decide to finish this event based on their qualifying rounds. This left the men to dominate the live broadcast on Red Bull with their final heats, showing off high speeds and spectacular tricks over the course’s two big jumps. In the gold medal matchup, last year’s victor Garret Mechem outperformed Italian Daniele Ferri with a faster run, securing extra points with a Backflip Bar Spin One-Footed Can-Can on the final feature. 

Speed & Style – Women's Podium 

1. Jordy SCOTT (USA)
2. Martha GILL (GBR) 
3. Katie LAWRANCE (AUS) 

Speed & Style – Men's Podium 

1. Garret MECHEM (USA)
2. Daniele FERRI (ITA) 
3. Jackson FREW (AUS) 

Next, athletes rushed to the Official Australian Whip-Off Championships, where they darted down the course seeing who can get most sideways. After a series of breathtaking whips against the stunning rainforest backdrop, judges awarded gold medals to Garret Mechem and Katie Lawrance. Amelia Freeman and Seth Stylie took silver, while Darcy Coutts stepped up alone for the bronze as only two women entered the race.

Official Australian Whip-Off Championships – Women's Podium 

1. Garret MECHEM (USA) 
2. Seth STYLIE (NZL) 
3. Darcy COUTTS (AUS)  

Official Australian Whip-Off Championships – Women's Podium 

1. Katie LAWRANCE (AUS)
2. Amelia FREEMAN (AUS) 

This big day for athletes and spectators concluded with the Crankworx Cairns Pump Track Challenge. In true Party in Paradise fashion, the event took place under the lights with live bands introducing the world’s best athletes racing on the still slightly wet track. Last year’s champion Caroline Buchanan finished second, extremely close behind Jordy Scott, who not only made the podium twice today but also collected three gold medals throughout this week. Reflecting on her success, Scott said, “I went into the week hoping for three podiums. So I guess I did that and a little bit more. So, I’m super stoked. Cairns has treated me super well.” Buchanan and Scott were in a tight race, with Scott gaining a 0.003 second advantage in the first, and a 0.112 second difference in the second final run. This makes it the closest head-to-head result ever in Crankworx history, following Anne-Caroline Chausson and Anneke Beerten’s 2015 Pump Track race in Les Gets with a 0.002 second difference. Shania Rawson clinched her second bronze medal this week after the Specialized Dual Slalom on Thursday. Ryan Gilchrist improved on last year’s second place, repeating his victory from Crankworx Rotorua earlier this year. He demonstrated incredible speed on the red dirt track. Joining him on the podium were last year’s winner Jayce Cunning in second place, and former King of Crankworx Bas Van Steenbergen in third, edging out Tuhoto-Ariki Pene, who won the crown last year. 

 Pump Track Challenge – Men’s Result 

1. Ryan GILCHRIST (AUS) 
2. Jayce CUNNING (AUS) 
3. Bas VAN STEENBERGEN (CAN) 

Pump Track Challenge – Women's Result 

1. Jordy SCOTT (USA) 
2. Caroline BUCHANAN (AUS) 
3. Shania RAWSON (NZL) 

It’s been a day for the crowds, creating an unforgettable atmosphere, energising the athletes, and vice versa. Following this Super Saturday, there has been significant movement in the King and Queen of Crankworx standings, with Ryan Gilchrist taking the top spot from Tuhoto-Ariki Pene, and Jordy Scott closing in on current leader Martha Gill.

This action-packed day is in the books, but Crankworx Cairns is not over yet! Slopestyle Sunday is coming up tomorrow, welcoming the world’s best male and female Freeride Mountain Bike athletes onto the big stage at Smithfield Mountain Bike Park for the first time ever. Spectators across the globe can watch the gravity-defying action on Red Bull TV. For the latest news, behind-the-scenes content, and updates from the courses, follow @crankworx and @crankworxcairns. 
Tickets for Slopestyle Sunday are still available at: https://www.crankworx.com/cairns/passes/

Find the full schedule here
Full results: crankworx.com/results/
King & Queen of Crankworx Standings: https://www.crankworx.com/results/series/