Thursday was a big day for our 17-year-old ripper Eddie Reynolds. After winning gold at the 2023 Crankworx Whip-Off’s there was no rest, as it was straight down to the boneyard to line up for the Dual Slalom. Eddie qualified in 3rd and had made it through to the round of 32 and then advanced through to the quarter finals. Any one of the final eight riders was capable of taking the win, especially seeing as there was also a battle within the race going on for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the King of Crankworx. The high-speed course left no room for error and the final rounds saw multiple DQ’s for missed gates.
After advancing from the quarter-finals with a win over Austin Warren, Eddie found himself up against an on-form Jackson Frew in the semis, it was a tight race but Jackon would take the win, leaving Eddie to battle the freshly crowned King of Crankworx, Tuhuto Ariki-Pene for the bronze medal. A mistake for Eddie on the black course meant a 1.5-second penalty, despite throwing down a solid second run on the red course (taking the win), it was not enough to make up for the 1.5-second penalty and Eddie would finish the day in fourth place! Well, he does have that gold medal from whip-offs…
“I was hungry for slalom this year! I felt so good all day, qualified third, and made it into the live show! Came out swinging in the bronze medal round and got a little too ahead of myself and ended up blowing the last gate but that’s racing! Very happy with a fourth! My 134 couldn’t have ripped better!” – Eddie Reynolds
