Competitions

Crankworx les 2 Alpes, Whips it, whips it good.

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Cam Johnson whips it good at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes. Photo by Paris Gore.

An exciting addition to Les 2 Alpes' event line-up this year is the Whip Off Contest, modeled after Crankworx Whistler's wildly popular Official Whip Off World Championships. The event took place on a giant booter located near the end of the "Fury" track; used earlier today for the Polygon Air DH, supported by Fox. While speed was the ticket earlier in the day, the Whip Contest was all about style. There were no rules in this event; the single biggest, and most stylish, whip takes home the 500€ cash prize and New Zealand shredder Cam Johnson took home the money today.

Johnson isn't new to the Crankworx scene. He's competed as an amateur at Crankworx Whistler several times after spending his summers riding the Whistler Mountain Bike Park constantly and competing in its weekly "Phat Wednesdays" race series. That training ground, where the whip reigns supreme, may have been the secret sauce for Johnson who managed to out trick a solid field of seasoned pros including Bernard Kerr (UK), Brendan Fairclough (UK), Sam Reynolds (UK) and Austin Warren (USA).

The Whip Off Contest made its debut today in Les 2 Alpes and was first introduced as an unsanctioned event at Crankworx Whistler by mountain bike photographer Sven Martin. Now Crankworx Whistler is proud to hold the Official World Whip Off Championships as part of the event line-up every year. The whip is a revered move inspired by moto where the rider airs and throws the rear of the bike to one side; getting the bike flat, sideways and dragged out earns major style points.

A full video highlight show from Pinkbike featuring highlights from today's event and covering all the action will be released on www.crankworx.com.

Tomorrow live webcasts of each remaining events at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes will begin and can be accessed on crankworx.com or redbull.com/bike. First up will be the GT Dual Speed and Style on Thursday, July 11 airing at 1700hr CEST. This hybrid event will see competitors racing through the dual course on side-by-side, tricked-out tracks throwing style into the air on the mid-course booters to earn time credits. For the full schedule of events at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes check out http://www.crankworx.com/whistler/schedule.php.

Online Results: http://www.crankworx.com/les2alpes/en/results.php