Robin Goomes flies to first-ever Crankworx women’s Slopestyle win in Rotorua
Coquitlam's Natasha Miller fourth in inaugural event
Photo by:
Clint Trahan / Crankworx
Crankworx wrapped up its 10th anniversary in Rotorua on a historic note with the running of its first-ever women’s Slopestyle event. It marked the first time a women’s field was included in the marquee event at Crankworx, an event which was the last bastion of gender inequity at the otherwise progressive series. It was also the first-ever FMBA Diamond-level event to include a women’s field. Due to a strike earlier in the week, the event did not, unfortunately, include a men’s event.
That put the spotlight squarely on Robin Goomes, the New Zealand rider who won Sunday’s Slopestyle.
For Canadian fans, 17-year-old Natasha Miller nearly landed a podium before finishing fourth. Miller, of Coquitlam, B.C., was sitting third after her first of two runs with a score of 78.75. Australian Olympian Caroline Buchanan rallied on her second run to score 80.25 move past the Canadian. Miller responded on her second run, lifting her score to 79.5 but not quite matching Buchanan’s third-place total. It a wildly impressive showing from the young B.C. rider and surely the start of a bright future for her in the sport.
Australia’s Harriet Burbidge-Smith backflipped into second place with an 85.5 on her first run. But it was Robin Goodes, with a huge 90.75, taking the win. The top two riders, also training partners, decided to forego their second run to ride down the course together.
“The plan for run 2 was just to clean that [first] ride up, but instead, Haz and I stayed in our positions, and Haz was saying that if she stayed in second, she was happy to just party train down,” Goomes said after her win. “Honestly, that’s the dream – having fun with your friends. It’s been a good week!”
The McGazza Slopestyle wrapped up a big week in Rotorua. Crankworx World Tour now heads to Cairns, Australia for another run of events from May 22-26.
