The giant Swede, Martin Soderstrom, has walked away with a huge personal victory, returning from back-to-back injuries for the win in the Mons Royale Dual Speed and Style at Crankworx Rotorua.
"I had some really bad luck with injuries, so it's such a good feeling to be back on top
and riding with all my friends again," said Soderstrom, who beat Adrien Loron (FRA) in a neck-and-neck final round.
Loron was targeting the speed aspect of the duelling discipline throughout, choosing to consistently try and pin it across the line first, over pulling the best tricks. In the end, Soderstrom's flare won the day. Standing in the finish coral, he officially confirmed he is targeting the new King of the Crankworx World Tour title, a season-long race to gather the most points at Crankworx events.
"See how I go," he said. "If I just keep on having fun, maybe it will all work out."
Announcer Tristan Merrick chalked the results up to Soderstrom's demeanor.
"He has got such great tricks, but I would says he's back and he's healthy and he's confident," he said, when asked what he figured gave him the edge.
Dual Speed and Style pits two riders against one another in a gravity-fed race down a course designed for pulling tricks, challenging the riders to balance the need for speed against their best possible tricks.
Loron, meanwhile, was still happy with his outcome having taken out Ryan 'R-Dog' Howard in the quarter finals.
"It was pretty cool for me to win against Ryan Howard because he's a pretty good rider and I lost last year against him. So, I'm happy to get on the podium today," he said.
Soderstrom bested a field of 29 riders for his first major win in close to two years.
Results:
1. Martin SODERSTROM (SWE)
2. Adrien LORON (FRA)
3. Bernard KERR (GBR)
