SDG off to a roaring start at Crankworx New Zealand

SDG athletes got the 2015 MTB season off to a great start this weekend here in Rotorua, New Zealand for this first Crankworx festival south of the Equator.

Loic Bruni (Lapierre) took home top honours in the downhill event despite taking a couple of huge crashes in practice in the days before the event.  The young frenchman took on a who's who of downhill and came out on top on a a wild track. Almost identical to the course used for the 2006 World championships, it was a high speed greasy ride down the mountain and though the roots. Dirt conditions varied from greasy slime to powdery dust depending on how much light was let through the jungle canopy, making for some exciting moments for everyone. 6 out of the 10 top riders were running SDG saddles and/or the patented I-Beam Technology. 

In the Whip Off, Canadian Casey Brown took the win for the ladies as a couple of thousand fans hung out in the gorgeous Kiwi sunshine to watch a combination of downhillers, free riders and slope style riders get sideways.

In the Enduro World Series event, SDG/Endura Bergamont Factory Team rider Katy Winton finished with a strong 9th place finish, with her teammate Joseph Nation taking 16th in the men's field. Also to mention, local World Cup Downhiller Brook MacDonald (Trek World Racing), came in 17th. 

The downhillers now head to Lourdes, France for the first world cup of the season while most of the free riders head to the Vienna Air King event in Austria in 2 weeks time. The Enduro riders have a few weeks off until the second stop of their series in Ireland.