MTBcut's Hannah Barnes Reports from Whistler's Crankworx

MTBcut's Hannah Barnes has been out in Canada getting some quality bicycling in. She recently raced the Kokanee Crankworx Enduro where she finished 5th in Pro Women.

Hannah rides Nuke Proof bars, iXS protection and Straitline stems and chain guides.

Read her report below:

Last weekend we loaded up the wee wagon and headed up from North Vancouver to Whistler for Crankworx. It was awesome to be in Whistler, which I'd heard so much about, as the place to be for mountain biking!

We rode all day every day, interspersed with smoothie stops and cruising about Whistler village enjoying the chilled, fun atmosphere of Crankworx. It was cool watching all the events throughout the week. The pumptrack race was cool, and even more cool that there was a bear cutting about at the side!

As I was racing the enduro on the weekend I spent some time during the week getting to know the 5 timed stages we'd be racing. I rode my Orange 5 all week which was the perfect all round bike to hit the boom gnarly rocky, rooty bike park trails and also the fast XC trails at Lost Lake.

On Saturday I seeded 4th Pro for Sunday's race. It was amazing to race alongside the likes of Anne-Caroline Chausonn. I was the only British rider in my category, Whistler local pinners and Anne-Caro made up the rest.

The race consisted of 5 timed stages with riders set off at 30 second intervals, and a cut off time to get to each stage, making up the format of enduro racing.

The first stage was in Whistler bike park which was fast, loose and dusty. The next two stages were at Lost Lake, which were longer xc style sections which were lung bursting and hot! The fourth section was on Blackcomb mountain which had a brutal steep loose fire road climb to the start. This section was probably my favourite, it was really natural with a variety of steep, loose rocks and roots, some short, tough climbs, and fast, flat, loose corners to finish.

Danny was great team support, being on hand for XC/DH helmet swaps and giving me food and juice. It was nice and sociable riding between each section, getting to know the other riders.

The final stage was on Whistler Bike Park. Getting to the start we went zooming past a bear right beside the track eating grass. This final section was live on Freecaster which was cool. I loved the track. It was such a fun mix of tight, rooty sections and fast, power-down, pedaling sections. I finished 5th Pro female. I was really happy with the race, it went smoothly and my bike was perfect for the job. Anne-Caroline Chaussone and Brian Lopes took the win.

Now it's back to Vancouver for the next wee while to session the trails on the North Shore!