On the final Sunday of the season, Ryan Gilchrist sealed a third consecutive King of Crankworx title. The Australian clinched the overall crown at the Grand Final in Mont-Sainte-Anne after his Air DH victory gave him the points cushion he needed.
A duel decided on a new track
The Air DH became a direct contest for the season championship between Gilchrist and Canadian rival Tegan Cruz. With the weather turning clear by Sunday morning, both riders attacked the freshly built permanent course. Gilchrist stopped the clock at 2:24.036, less than a second ahead of Cruz's 2:25.011.
Tristan Lemire finished third in 2:28.759, placing two Canadians on the podium. The win handed Gilchrist control of the standings before the final discipline of the weekend, the dual slalom.
A crash, a silver and a 62-point crown
Gilchrist advanced past Lemire in the dual slalom semifinals, while Cruz beat Bas Van Steenbergen to set up another head-to-head. In the final, Gilchrist crashed during the first run, opening the door for Cruz to take the dual slalom gold. The points race narrowed dramatically — a gap of just 62 points separated the two at the finish.
It was tight, but it was enough. Gilchrist's Air DH victory and his dual slalom silver locked in a third straight King of Crankworx crown, a streak he had built since first leading the standings at the start of the 2026 season.
A record streak with deep roots
The title run began at Rotorua in 2024, where Gilchrist claimed his first Air DH win. He beat defending champion and fellow Australian Mick Hannah that day, a veteran he later described as a mentor. "We really did a lot of practice together, and he taught me some of his secrets that he learned winning last year," Gilchrist told reporters afterwards.
Over three seasons he turned that lesson into a dynasty, collecting Air DH wins at Rotorua and Whistler and carrying the points lead through every round. The permanent track in Mont-Sainte-Anne, built to stay long after the Crankworx tape comes down, now forms part of his record.
A quiet Sunday in Quebec settled nothing less than a piece of mountain-bike history.
