Whanganui-born and bred mountain bike racer Sam Blenkinsop celebrated one of his best seasons yet with a world title at the Canadian Open Downhill track at Crankworx Whistler on Sunday.
Sharing the overall season podium with elite female winner, Australian Tracey Hannah, Blenkinsop who, on top of becoming the Crankworx Downhill Champion, also earned the title of King of Crankworx 2018.
The Kiwi finished the day in fourth place in the Canadian Open, wrapping up a season that included two wins at Crankworx Rotorua, a second in Innsbruck, and a fifth place finish in Les Gets for the Crankworx World Tour title.
And while he expressed slight disappointment at having just missed Sunday's podium, he said to finally clinch the King title after a couple years of coming close was "a pretty sweet way to end the season."
"After Rotorua I felt like I had a pretty good points lead so I was like, 'Well, might as well keep going and try and do as many events as I can,'" Blenkinsop said.