The second weekend of Crankworx Rotorua has officially kicked off, and tonight’s Pump Track Challenge Presented by Torpedo7 was one for the books. Nestled into the base of Skyline Rotorua, the pump track has been designed to be a perfect stadium for spectating, walled with crowds cheering on the exciting head-to-head racing. Freshly reshaped, this tight and technical pump track makes for one of the most unforgiving tracks on the Crankworx World Tour. Featuring an updated stall wall that would ultimately prove to be the difference maker. The racing was as tight as the track itself, and the crowd was…
Author: Tomas
It’s the midpoint of Crankworx Rotorua and the world’s fastest and smoothest riders could be found ripping down Skyline’s iconic Mr. Black track for the return of the Crankworx Rotorua Air Downhill. This is one of those races where the track is seemingly simple to ride which makes it harder to race. There’s no margin for error on Mr. Black, and putting a podium run together, all comes down to the rider’s ability to squash jumps, ride the corners fast, and put down as much power as possible. It’s a two minute sprint where even a little more power than…
The vibes were high as Skyline Rotorua welcomed Crankworx fans back with the Official New Zealand Whip-Off Championships. The crowd was roaring while the riders were frothing and running back up to the top of the course to get more laps in. This was also arguably the largest women’s Whip-Off field in Crankworx Rotorua history. Canadian Elite Women, Georgia Astle and Kirsten Van Horne made their debut appearance on a Crankworx Whip-Off podium, coming in second and third place respectively. Crankworx Whip-Off veteran, Vinny Armstrong won first place with her signature style of carving up the lip and floating through…
The acclaimed mountain bike event returns in 2023 in a new location, accompanied by a new MTB festival. Mark your calendars, mountain bike fans! From the 14th to the 20th of August, 2023, Swatch Nines MTB will make its debut in a thrilling new location: Green Hill Bikepark in Schmallenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since its opening in July 2022, Green Hill has quickly become a household name in the MTB community. Situated on an abandoned ski slope in the Sauerland region, the park—one of the largest mountain bike destinations in Germany—was built in less than six months thanks to in-house…
The 2023 Crankworx World Tour has officially kicked off in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest for the RockShox Taniwha Downhill, putting the world’s best downhillers to the test. The track is known for it’s rooty chutes and ruts which can be challenging on a dry day, but absolutely menacing in the wet. After a downpour of rain two days before finals, the track dried up for some tacky dirt conditions, but featured a few “choose your own adventure” rut sections making for an action-packed day of racing. Number one seed in the Elite Men category, and five-time world champion Loic Bruni, was able…
The well-known manufacturer of brake components is joining forces with the prestigious Continental Atherton race team in 2023 and will equip all its bikes with the “Disc Shark®” discs and the Pro G1554T and Advanced G1851 pads at the UCI DH World Cup 2023. This fantastic partnership between Spanish brake manufacturer Galfer Bike and British bike brand Atherton Bikes will see them equip all their downhill competition bikes with Galfer brake components as of the 2023 season. Andreas Kolb and Charlie Hatton set the Men’s Elite category on fire in 2022, with a total of five podiums and eight “Top Ten” finishes in…
RockShox Trek Race Team has selected Continental as their official tire partner for 2023, with reigning Downhill World Champion Vali Höll (Austria) and frequent Junior podium fixture Tegan Cruz (Canada) both returning for a third season riding for the youngest and most exciting team on the World Cup circuit. Continental’s Gravity range of tires was officially launched in April 2022, following three year’s development by Continental’s category-leading R&D team and testing by athletes across the Continental Atherton, Continental Nukeproof, and Pivot Factory Racing teams. A wide-ranging portfolio engineered from the ground up to meet the demands of every rider, the Gravity…
You’ve probably seen Do a Wheelie in May 2022. A Danny MacAskill and adidas Five Ten collaboration that celebrates cycling in its purest form. Now learn about all the stars of the film. When Danny MacAskill launched his search for people to feature in a film about wheelies, the response was emphatic. Riders from all over the world applied to feature alongside Danny in this Cut Media film, in association with adidas Five Ten. ‘Danny MacAskill’s Wheelie Project’ is a Cut Media film celebrating the wheelie, told from Danny’s perspective: What it is that makes the wheelie so special, how he pulled off…
2023 Downhill season is set to be one for the history books, with big changes rolling out from all sides. Today, Crankworx announced their up-leveled plans for downhill mountain bike racing, including the following: Crankworx is all about creating the ultimate experience in mountain biking. With that in mind, we have re-imagined what Crankworx Downhill is for 2023. We’ve got the opportunity to bring some of the world’s best to race in these amazing locations. We’ve got a dream team in the booth, elevated coverage, and a unique new award for athletes to chase in the 1199 Award. We hope…
In case you’ve been living under a rock, we’ve got some news to share with you: NZ is the place to be these days. The Southern Hemisphere is charging toward the dog days of summer, and mountain biking’s elite have been busy getting the goods (and making us all jealous via the ‘gram for far too long). World, it’s time to get amongst it. Crankworx Rotorua is on deck to get international MTB competition season started in four weeks, March 18-26. Who’s in? Here’s a taste. Really happy to be able to make it back to New Zealand, I feel relaxed as…
Galfer Bike launches the new Disc Shark® 160 mm disc with a thickness of 1.8 mm for use with Cross and Down-Country bicycles. After the global success that followed the launch of “Disc Shark®” in June 2022, in 180 mm, 203 mm and 223 mm sizes for “gravity” and E-bike disciplines, Spanish brake systems specialist Galfer is now launching the new “Disc Shark®” in 160 mm size for XCO/XCM users. The new 160 mm Shark, with a lower weight of just 104 grammes, is the ultimate expression of the highest level of innovation and technology that the Galfer Shark range has…
Braking later means holding your speed longer. Seeking to turn this principle of racing into reality, GALFER with its innovative products is the perfect sponsor for the new season of the iXS Downhill Cup. We are delighted to announce that we have secured another great sponsor for the upcoming season. This time it is an innovative brake pad and disc manufacturer from Spain. Galfer already has a very long tradition in the friction systems industry and has been manufacturing high-quality products since 1952. The company has its origins in the car industry. In the 1980s they began focussing on braking systems for…
Until now, the YT MOB was the brand’s race division, an explosive team that thrived between the tape and rocked the sports landscape from the outset. From the moment they put tires to dirt, the MOB put YT Industries on the map with their unity of racecraft, personality, and undeniable talent, confirming their status as a dominant force within the race paddock. But all great things must come to an end. 2021 saw the MOB withdraw from competition; radio silence echoed as they mapped out their future. Behind the scenes, there’s been a shift in focus. A break in the…
The ultimate mountain biking road trip is getting ready to make its return to New Zealand in just a few weeks. We’re talking Crankworx-caliber competition with a grassroots vibe at four destinations around New Zealand’s South Island. This summer marks a significant calendar reset and the Summer Series paves the road to Crankworx Rotorua’s return as the first stop on the Crankworx World Tour.Ariki Tibble, Event Director for Crankworx Rotorua and Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand (CSS NZ) Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand launched in 2021, giving local and up-and-coming riders a chance to compete against international heroes including Sam…