Pivot Factory Team kicks off the 2020 season at Crankworx Rotorua
Crankworx Rotorua is always a great event and this year promised to be no different delivering the goods once again...4 Podiums for the first event of the year!
Toa Enduro
First up was the Toa enduro with both Eddie and Matt competing. A one-day enduro with 6 pedally stages and tight liaisons meant it was a heavy and intense day in the saddle. After quite a few stage wins and solid results on the others it was Eddies for the taking winning the first race of the year and the first one on his new Pivot switchblade after only having 1 previous day riding it. Just nipping at his toes and rounding the podium out was Matt with a solid 3rd place!
Air DH
Next up was the Air DH race down the rather flat and not so whistler A-line track but none the less a fun track here in NZ. Matt was the star of the show here with another 3rd place on his new switchblade! After a rather disappointing run and a small mechanical Issue, Bernard would finish in 12th place with Eddie having a little too much fun on track and finishing 16th keeping the fans happy!
Dual Slalom
Dual slalom was the next event for the crew and the track was rad, after a lot of feedback from the year before Crankworx had moved the track to the main venue and added one of the coolest stall wall features we have seen yet! Good times were had! After some intense racing, Bernard finished last out of the team in 12th place with his arch-nemesis Eddie in 11th! haha! Going all the way to the small finial and claiming the Bronze medal and his 3rd, 3rd place finish of the week yet again about his switchblade was Matt!!!
Whip-Off
Whip off was once again held under the lights at night but with the wind blowing pretty strong Bernard was the only one that rode aboard his Shuttle E-bike...feathers were ruffled but he had a great time and got more runs in than anyone else getting some good coverage all over the web!
Rotorua DH
The DH race was on a mostly new course this year after being very much the same for the past 4 years. Day 1 of practice was very slow as there was pretty much no lines and everyone was just trying to work out where to go. Once the second day rolled around and a couple of hundred amateurs had been down the track it was a very different story. Continuing onto race day the track deteriorated like no one has ever seen since we all started racing, massive holes littered with massive roots, heaps of dust and all on an off-camber hillside, it was carnage! Unfortunately, after only 3 real days on his DH bike coming into this event and a slightly tweaked wrist on Saturday with the track conditions, Eddie decided it would be best if he missed the race to concentrate on the upcoming EWS races. Matt had a solid run and finished in a strong 8th place. Bernard knowing he was feeling good all week and wanting to put something special together pushed too hard in the loose conditions causing 2 big mistakes having to peddle his way to get going again finished in 5th place. Not a result he wanted and being just 1 second off the podium and 3 off the win.
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