JD Swanguen Wins Telus Dual Slalom at Kokanee Crankworx 2008

JD Swanguen takes top spot on a damp, technical course after the most competitive Dual Slalom ever seen at Kokanee Crankworx. After favorites like Brian Lopes, Andrew Neethling, Dan Atherton and Cedric Gracia get knocked out in earlier rounds, first place was up for the taking. "It took constant adjustment to master this course, the weather really forced the athletes to be conservative to stay on track", says Stacy Kohut professional mountain biker and event announcer. "The designers did a great job building a course that was challenging and held up in the wet conditions." In its second year at Kokanee Crankworx and brought back by popular demand, the TELUS Dual Slalom was a crowd pleaser with high speed action, big crashes and a viewer friendly course layout. The head to head format with riders pumping through rhythm sections and ripping through tight berms, made for non-stop action from start to finish. In the Pro Men category JD Swanguen took first place, Nico Vink took second place, Chris Herndon took third and Corey Warren took fourth. JD was on his game and didn't let up through out the entire night. "The rain came in and I know I had to keep it pinned and not be too conservative to take the win." In the Pro Women category, Anneke Beerten finished first, Rachel Atherton finished second, Fionn Griffiths finished third and Kathy Pruitt finished fourth. The TELUS Dual Slalom kicked off opening day at Kokanee Crankworx 2008. Day two includes more live music on the TELUS MainStage and the Garbanzo Downhill starting at 11:30. For more event results and live webcast of the Monster Energy Slopestyle, VW Trick Showdown and the "Giant Slalom" check out www.crankworx.com PHOTOS: Yorick Carroux