Norco Factory Racing - Crankworx Innsbruck

Following Crankworx Les Gets, the team was off to Innsbruck, Austria for the 3rd Crankworx event of the year. As we’ve mentioned before, these are such great events to race, have some fun, ride bikes, and hang out with fans.

This was the first year for Crankworx in Innsbruck, so everyone was excited to see the venue and city. With continued hot and humid weather in Europe, it was once again looking like great weather for the event. Nice to see for the fans!

Like Les Gets, for Sam and Henry, first up was Whip Off. Again, Joe would sit out so he could preserve his shoulder for DH event. The rumor was, the jump was BIG! Well the rumor was right. For their first year, the event builders did it right! A couple massive jumps for the riders and fans to get excited about. Sam and Henry were loving it!

Following Whip Off, next up was the iXS Downhill event. Again, nobody knew what was in store. But once up on course for track walk, everyone was happy to see the very natural layout of the track. Like Les Gets, it was also great to see a many of the top World Cup athletes show up to participate.

After a few good on-bike training days, the guys were stoked for the finals on Saturday. First up was Henry. With what he called a 'too conservative' run, Henry ended up 49th on the day. Next up was Joe. Sam mentioned Joe was looking fast through all training, and when the Welshman came through in 1st to the hot seat, it was confirmed! A great day for Joe, as he ended up 5th on the day. Great to see Joe feeling better and better on his bike since his shoulder injury. Last up, was Sam. As explaining after his run, he rode very tight up to top (probably due to miscalculating his warm-up), and then over-road the bottom half of the course. Sam finished up 13th. He's ready to redeem himself in Vallnord this weekend for the next UCI World Cup.

Now it’s off to Vallnord, Andorra, for Round 4 of the UCI World Cup Downhill. Four weeks into our 'European Tour,' everyone is still feeling strong on the team and ready to put in strong effort.

Thanks! - NFR