Mountain Bike Athletes At Crankworx Whistler Event

More podium spots at Crankworx 2024! Monster Energy congratulates 17-year-old Monster Army rider Erice van Leuven from Aotearoa, New Zealand, on winning the Whip-Off World Championships at the Crankworx Whistler mountain bike race event in Canada.

• Monster Army Rider Erice van Leuven from New Zealand Wins Whip-Off World Championships, Takes Third Place in Specialized Dual Slalom
• Monster Army's Nikolas Nestoroff from San Diego, California, Takes 3rd Place in Specialized Dual Slalom
• Swedish Team Rider Max Fredriksson Claims Third Place in Red Bull Joyride Freestyle Competition

Van Leuven also took third place in the Specialized Dual Slalom downhill mountain bike race event in the Pro Women's division on Thursday. The Pro Men's division saw 24-year-old Monster Army rider Nikolas Nestoroff from San Diego, California, taking third place. In Saturday's Red Bull Joyride freestyle event, Swedish team rider Max Fredriksson took third place.

From July 19 to 28, the Crankworx Whistler Mountain Bike Festival was the center of the global mountain bike racing community—ten days of racing, slopestyle competitions, and bike demos. Started in Whistler in 2004, Crankworx has evolved into a multi-stop international festival series with stops across the globe, starting in Rotorua, Cairns, Innsbruck, and the final stop in Whistler.

In a show-stopping win, 17-year-old Monster Army rider Erice van Leuven from Aotearoa, New Zealand, took first place in the Whip-Off World Championships on Wednesday, July 24. For the first time in Crankworx history, the Official Whip-Off World Championships presented by POC took place at Skier's Plaza in front of a festival crowd.

The freestyle contest revolves around launching the most contorted aerials—known as 'whips'—over the kicker jump. When all was said and done, van Leuven clinched the win by sending the biggest and most tweaked-out whip for the title of Women's World Champion. No stranger to whips, the Kiwi ripper already placed second at the Official New Zealand Whip-Off Championships in Rotorua in Spring 2024.

Capping off a big weekend for the young rider, van Leuven took third place in the Specialized Dual Slalom downhill mountain bike race event in the Pro Women's division on Thursday, July 25. The prodigy earned third place after defeating Janelle Soukoup from the United States.

The Specialized Dual Slalom also concluded with a team rider on the podium in the Pro Men's division: After a series of head-to-head races, 24-year-old Monster Army rider Nikolas Nestoroff from San Diego, California, finished his weekend by taking home third place. Nestoroff secured his podium spot after beating local rider Tegan Cruz.

In the Red Bull Joyride freestyle event, Swedish team rider Max Fredriksson rose to the podium in third place. On his first run of the final, Fredriksson worked the course with nollie 360 off the flat drop, back-to-360 into 360 double barspin the combo jump, double backflip tuck no-hander into a triple downside tailwhip, backflip double tailwhip, 360 up to 360 down the step-up obstacle, 360 toboggan, alley-oop no-hander into the quarter pipe, and 360 double barspin on the final obstacle for 84.4 points and third place. What's more, the Swedish rider was the only male athlete in the final to finish his runs entirely without a crash.

On the previous weekend at Crankworx Whistler, the competitive RockShox Canadian Open Downhill Race saw 28-year-old Luca Shaw from Hendersonville, North Carolina, claim third place in the Pro Men's Division.