There was a moment during Saturday’s qualifying where it looked like, in Whistler’s long-awaited World Cup, there might not be a single Canadian in Sunday’s elite men’s finals. Then Dane and Jakob Jewett dropped in. Dane set the fastest time in Q2, with his brother Jakob joining him in finals. 2024 national champion Johnathan Helly would eventually also make it through to Sunday’s racing.

In finals, Dane would crash twice early on, ending his day. But Jakob set a benchmark time early on that would see him sit in podium position until the last two riders dropped in. His fifth place put him as the top Canadian, with a career best result, on his home World Cup course. All this after a winter spent rehabing a shoulder injury that, at one point, looked like it might end his competitive career.

Jakob Jewett floats through qualifying in Whistler.
“I’m so proud to be in the final and to hear all the fans screaming at me.”

“I have no words,” Jakob Jewett said after the elite men’s race. “The dream would be to be up there in the hotset forever, but to get fifth here at home and to be the top Canadian? I can’t ask for anything more.”

I caught up with the elder Jewett brother in a brief window between being swarmed by young fans looking for autographs. While he’s raced on 1199 before during Crankworx, and won, this was something different.

“This was insane. To have all the world’s best on this gnarly track right now is crazy,” Jakob said. “I think it made for a great race, it was wild.”

Jakob’s younger brother, and teammate on Giant Factory Off-Road team, echoed that semitiment.

“I’ve been wanting this for a while, and I’m so proud to be in the final and to hear all the fans screaming at me.”

Dane Jewett during a muddy Friday of practice.
“To do this at home is pretty special”

After putting down the fastest qualifying time on Saturday, and with Goldstone and Iles absent from the final, the huge crowd of Canadian fans all had their eyes, and hopes, on the younger Jewett brother in finals. A crash early in his run quickly ended that effort.

“Unfortunately I went down right at the start and again right after that. I’m pretty dissapointed, but the main goal was to be in the final, and we did that,” Dane said.

And he’s right. A World Cup final is still a huge deal. Especially in only his second season as an elite. To get that result at home, and have his brother in the finals with him was not lost on Dane.

“Jakob and I have had a rough season, so to do this at home is pretty special,” the younger Jewett admits. “I’m still bummed I couldn’t get a good result like he has, but there’s always more races.”

For both Jewetts, getting their career-best results in Whistler is a bit of a fairytale moment. While they might have wanted more after Saturday’s qualifying results, making finals at home is a big chapter in a story that started on the same slops a long time ago. Both Jewetts were part of the classic Anthill Films segment following Whistler groms around the hill. Asked what it feels like to have the world come to his home hill, and to be the one those groms are now coming to for autographs (both brothers were swarmed for a long time after coming out of the finish area),

“It’s so insane. I’ve been riding forever and this is the spot in the world, I feel like everyone want to come here. To finally have the World Cup here, all the fast guys here and everyone out to watch us? I’m so grateful.”