An untimely bout of rainfall cut short the inaugural Outdoor Research Trick Showdown, but there was still enough time for a pair of freeride veterans to score some prize money.
2024 Slopestyle Triple Crown winner Dawid Godziek emerged victorious among men, and incumbent Red Bull Rampage ladies' champ Robin Goomes took care of business as well.
Marketed as an NBA Slam Dunk Contest–style event, the Trick Showdown basically replaced Speed and Style on Crankworx Whistler's docket. It was to feature a 30-minute jam session as a qualifying round followed by a head-to-head elimination battles to determine champions, but inclement weather and associated safety concerns meant only the initial half hour took place.
"Pretty stoked, considering the conditions," said Goomes. "I definitely had more tricks in the bag, but it was windy, it was raining. Happy to go out there and be able to at least put something on for the crowd."
Godziek echoed that sentiment, remarking: "The whole week was pretty challenging with the weather conditions, but we always try to do our best and…entertain the people around here. Also, it's good fun for us…a really nice session we had with all the boys and girls. Big tricks, but we were just warming up and we had more in our pockets."
Lisa-Marie Blanc and Shealen Reno joined Goomes in the women's start list, while the men's field consisted of Godziek, Ayden Siebenaler, Damian Anhder, LJ Parra and Tom van Steenbergen.
'The event itself is pretty sick'
Judging the 2025 Trick Showdown was a star-studded group in its own right: freerider Damon Iwanaga, three-time Garbanzo DH queen Georgia Astle, Rampage invitee Kirsten Van Horne, two-time King of Crankworx (and Tom's brother) Bas van Steenbergen as well as Carson Storch—the latter of whom was originally meant to participate.
Things unfolded quickly and loosely, not unlike a Whip-Off, as athletes tried to impress their judges. Siebenaler needed a trio of attempts to nail his eyebrow-raising Superman seat grab, while a flat tire ended Tom's day early. Various guests joined the broadcast, like 2018 Triple Crown man Nicholi Rogatkin, Squamish-based slopestyle savant Ben Thompson and newly-minted Whip-Off gold medallist Janelle Soukup.
Yet Goomes proved to be the obvious ladies' victor with her lofty backflips, while Godziek dialed in with cashroll barspins and tuck no-hander-to-barspin transitions.
"Noise is great," Goomes quipped. "I get fired up when the crowd's going for it. The more hype the crowd gets, the more hyped I get and then the bigger the tricks will get. The event itself is pretty sick. I think there's a lot of potential."
Godziek is happy to be back after an up-and-down season that saw him take approximately three months off his bike due to injury. A silver medal in Cairns helped rebuild the Polish veteran's confidence, however, and now he's raring to go on Sunday when Red Bull Joyride returns.
"It's super nice to be here for this [20th Crankworx] anniversary," said Godziek. "It's my fifth Joyride and I'm super keen to do more and more. I used to watch all the boys 20 years ago, already doing the runs, and it inspired me a lot back in the day. I hope I can inspire someone who's going to begin his bike journey."
Due to an inbound atmospheric river, which is expected to produce substantial rain, the RockShox Canadian Open Downhill's Group A finals have been moved to Saturday afternoon and Joyride is now pencilled in for a Sunday morning launch. Visit https://www.crankworx.com/ for more details, including competition results and updated scheduling.
