Scoping the world’s favourite MTB fest, shredding Whistler trails and testing the latest EV trucks with GMC.
Words & Photos :: Ben Haggar // Article sponsored by GMC Canada
Crankworx celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, incorporating a new title sponsor: GMC Canada. The first year of the partnership marks the beginning of Red Bull Canada event support with GMC Canada heading to Outliers—a mass-start, multi-disciplinary Enduro Moto event in the Alberta Badlands in early September. The events are a perfect area to showcase the capabilities of GMC’s new EV trucks, specifically the Hummer EV and Sierra EV.
The integration with the event is a natural fit for GMC, with some of the most capable trucks and SUVs for outdoor adventure on the market. GMC Brand Director Jamie Dewhurst is excited about the new partnerships. “It takes us into a space that we always thought was a natural fit. From a brand identity perspective, we’re professional-grade and our buyers are, too. Someone who digs into all the details—it could be biking, camping, moto… our engineers and designers are doing the same and it’s great to bring those worlds together.”
And with these new EVs, there’s a lot to dig into.
Throughout the festival, a GMC Sierra EV was powering the Red Bull bar perched in the middle of the Joyride Slopestyle course. Acting as a mobile generator, the Sierra’s 10,000 watt battery used just 8-10% per day to power fridges, lights and music for the bar. Designed as a mobile power bank, the Power Station Pro can power anything from a coffeemaker to another EV, and with the correct adapter, can even power your home. Brought into a backcountry setting, the EV has enough juice to silently power your campsite, keep a fridge of beers cold, and still provide shuttle laps all weekend with an impressive 740km range.
Designed as a mobile power bank, the Power Station Pro can power anything from a coffeemaker to another EV, and with the correct adapter, can even power your home.
Other features I appreciate as a mountain biker include the weather-ready e-trunk under the hood to stow dirty gear out of the elements, CrabWalk which enables four-wheel steering for lateral movement facilitating tight turn-arounds on narrow gravel roads, and the MultiPro Midgate that extends the truck bed to 10’ 10” by collapsing the rear seats and utilizing the removable rear glass window. The Sierra Elevation trim is already incredibly capable with a 2,250 max payload, but 4×4 connoisseurs will want to consider upgrading to GMC’s premium off-road trim, the AT4, which comes with an extra 2” factory lift and F89 High Stance suspension— which toted as the most capable passive suspension system on the market and engineered right here in Canada.
Other features I appreciate as a mountain biker include the weather-ready e-trunk under the hood to stow dirty gear out of the elements.
Needless to say, any Sierra will get you wherever you want to go, and then some.
Crankworx’s penultimate event and highlight for most spectators is Red Bull Joyride. During the event, one Void Black and two Solar Orange Hummer EVs were shuttling the world’s best Slopestyle riders to the top of the course in comfort.
The Hummer has come a long way since its 1980 military debut. Based around off-road capability with 16” of ground clearance, independent suspension actuation for each wheel and a 2500-pound carrying payload, the Humvee was the world’s most capable truck, hands down. The rebirth of the Hummer in its electric form has addressed the two main issues of its previous demise: fuel efficiency and speed. The 3X model hosts three motors offering a 12,000-pound towing capacity and 830 HP that gets 0-60kph off the line in 2.6 seconds and covers a shade over 500km on a single charge.
The Hummer has come a long way since its 1980 military debut.
As you would expect, there’s a host of fun features like Extract Mode which raises the body an extra 6” for a total clearance of over 16”, King Crab mode that builds off CrabWalk enabling the truck to nearly spin on its axis, and SuperCruise which allows for hand- and pedal-free driving which is 100% safe (but slightly unnerving testing it out on the Sea to Sky highway).
After driving a Sierra EV for the weekend and having a play around in the Hummer EV, it’s apparent why GM sells more EVs than any other brand in Canada. GMC, a brand under the GM Canada umbrella offers a range of trucks, SUVs, prices and trims to fit your lifestyle. There is also an electric or gas option for any budget or backcountry requirement. I was only able to scratch the surface of what these trucks can do but appreciated the balance of comfortable and capability with thoughtful engineering that’s fine-tuned for outdoor and off-road adventures.
These trucks are right at home on the trail as much as on the road.
