We’re pretty sure Zink does these in his sleep. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
American Cameron Zink emerged victorious in the SRAM Dual Speed and Style event at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes after storming through a stacked field of both DH specialists and free riders alike. Zink relied on his slopestyle skills to pick off competitors one by one as they made their way through the heats.
The format offered riders two opportunities each heat for one second time bonuses, awarded to the rider who pulled off the biggest trick over each of the two large jumps on course. These bonuses proved to be the deciding factor in many of the heats as riders would usually finish within two seconds of each other.
Cameron Zink after taking the win. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
In the finals, Zink faced Nico Vink of Belgium. While Vink was the first man down the mountain by a margin of 1.46 seconds, Zink’s backflip on the first jump and backflip nac-nac over the final jump gave him the two second bonus needed to take the win.
“This event was the perfect mix of what mountain biking should be,” says Zink. “Racing, tricks and hanging it all out!”
Nico Vink raced the course faster, but was unable to match Zink’s tricks. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
In the small final, two Frenchmen, Tomas Lemoine and Crankworx Dual Climb 26/29 winner Quentin Derbier squared off. Once again, to the trickster went to spoils, as Lemoine won both time bonuses and third place despite finishing 1.32 seconds behind Derbier.
Tomas Lemoine, a virtually unknown rider out of France took the final podium spot. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
Another American slopestyle talent, Kyle Strait faced Zink in the second round of competition. While either of them seemed to have the speed and bag of tricks to take the overall win, Strait washed out exiting a berm about halfway down the run, advancing Zink.
“The most exhilarating bout for me was Cam Zink versus Kyle Strait ? they were neck and neck all the way down,” says Ryan Meyer, Crankworx Les 2 Alpes’ live host and sport announcer. “They are such good friends and started racing together when they were ten years old. Then they both traversed into the freestyle scene and now they are back racing together in an event that merges the two disciplines together.”
Lemoine faces Derbier in the small final. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
Tomas Lemoine takes down Lago Garay with the help of this huge tuck no-hander. Photo: Stef Cand | stefcande.blogspot.com
Next up on the Les 2 Alpes’ schedule of events is Qualifying for the Slopestyle presented by iXS from 14:45-16:30 UTC +2 | 5:45am-7:30am PDT followed by the grand finale, the Teva Best Trick from 17:00-19:00 UTC +2 | 8am-10am PDT on Friday, July 13 at 6:30-8:00pm.
Live webcasts of the events will be available via Red Bull TV.
For more results and schedules, visit the Crankworx website here.
