This is it, the news item you've been waiting for.  Of course we were expecting the winner a few days ago, but you know how these things go......big decisions don't come quickly (not the we are defending Pinkbike....I mean... come on..) 

It was a small margin, and the correct amount of diligence (or procrastinating) was required in order to make sure the tally was 100% accurate. After a total of contest 275,329 votes the whole thing came down to a difference of only 68 votes between the last two images.

Vs.

"Going into this final round there were two images that could win, and there were varied opinions from a great many people about which one should be the winner. The thing that really surprised [Pinkbike] is how many great comments there were about each shot." says Pinkbike. 

The final votes came in on Saturday, and in the end it was 50.4% to 49.6% in favor of John Wellburn's shot of Darren Berrecloth in the Gobi Desert. Of course, in the Cariboo this was a forgone conclusion right from the start. While we all appreciate the great country of Poland, and the sweet Enduro Me that was recently posted to Pinkbike, we were fairly confident that John would emerge on top. 

Congratulations John. We're all super stoked on your achievement. We'll look forward to having you back for the Peel Out (May 19, 2012) next season with that shiny new Demo. Seems it was a big bike year for many of us eh? 

Here's to the big bikes, and John Wellburn. 

The Consortium