#CrankChaos Brings New levels of Stoke

The #CrankChaos Mountain Bike Festival kicked off their inaugural 3-day festival over the weekend at Afriski Mountain Resort in Lesotho. A first of its kind n Southern Africa, the Crankworx styled event was a massive success and saw high levels of stoke between the riders throughout the weekend.

Cross-country, Enduro, Downhill and Slopestyle, CrankChaos had it all. Lesotho’s Olympian, Pheteso Monese edged out his fellow countryman to take the win in the cross-country event.

Friday’s main event, the Enduro, saw a host of riders take to the 3-stage race. The 1000m long T-Bar was a favourite, giving riders an effortless ride to the top of the trails. Each stage featured its own unique sections including jumps, drops, rock gardens and peddling sections.
In the end it was 3-time Downhill World Champion, Greg Minnaar who claimed victory by winning two of the three stages. Minnaar was closely followed by Christopher Pearton in 2nd and Oliver Munnik in 3rd.
Nikki Alvin and Kayle Seaward took the tops steps on the podiums in the Female and Junior categories.

Saturday was jam packed full of events and the 38km Marathon kicked off proceedings. At 3222m altitude, this was no easy task. Pheteso Monese attacked early and lead the race to take the win.

Slopestyle riders we preparing for their event, dialling in their lines and tricks, but unfortunately high winds forced organisers to cancel the event to ensure rider safety. Cape Town’s The Trail Crew built a perfect dirt jump that escaped the wind at the bottom of the course and entertained spectators with a jam session.

The highlight of the weekend was the Downhill Eliminator. 4 riders against each other all racing down separate courses, with the first 2 riders advancing to the next round. Each course different, and with their own pros and cons. Riders picked out of a hat to see which course they would have to attack.
In an exciting semi-final, Minnaar had picked the longest of the 4 courses and was pipped at the line by Kayle Seaward. The final provided a tight battle between two families, the Philligenes and the Seawards. Chris and Jono Philligene took the 1st and 3rd positions respectively while Craig Seaward claimed the 2nd.

As riders, we had the time of our lives at CrankChaos and can admit that the event was a massive success. Things can only get bigger and better from here and we cannot wait for 2017.
The weekend was finished off with a Halloween party at the Gondola Café where partygoers were entertained by Jasper Dan and their Southern Rock sounds.