Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand Has Wrapped In Alexandra

Stop One of the Crankworx Summer Series is in the books. Alexandra saw some of Crankworx’s top athletes welcomed into the family by locals keen to show off their backyard tracks while throwing down the gauntlet to see how the pros times stack up against their own.

Alex is known as being the hottest, driest, and coldest town in New Zealand. Riders got a wee taste of all of the above through a weekend of racing in the soon-to-be-open Matangi Station MTB.

The vibe: rocky, janky, techy good times. A fight for flow through boulder fields and over rock rolls, and a weekend full of lung-busting efforts, mechanicals, and a real good time on the South Island of New Zealand.

The arena: three sections of track, times linked together to form the Alexandra Super D.

Here’s a taste of what went down:

Full results from the Alexandra Super D: crankworx.com/results/

The vibe overall was one of family. The town of Alexandra and those behind Matangi Station MTB welcomed us in with open arms, and the tracks left the whole crew wanting more.

Here is a look into what the crew got up to outside of race time in Alexandra:

And a few photos from the week (all courtesy of the official Crankworx World Tour photographer, Clint Trahan):

Checking out the trails in Alex on a shop ride with the crew from Henderson’s Cycle.
Sharing stoke and skill with the local girls.
Cold and wet practice reminding us it’s not summer in NZ just yet. Jenna Hastings, Casey Brown and Harriet Burbidge-Smith. Brown and Hastings would podium, and Haz earned her top gravity result at a Crankworx race.
The locals were firing and frothing, including Eddie Adams. When all was said and done, his race time of 11:38 would have placed him sixth in pro. Respect.
Making tracks in practice and dropping into Alex.
Race day brought hero dirt (are hero rocks a thing?) and sunshine. New Zealand’s Hayley Harris dropping into one of the areas natural amphitheaters. She would take the win in the CWNext 13-16 category.
Alex’s Bradley Harris, charging for first on race day.
Robin Pieper ended her day just three seconds behind Haz.
Louise Ferguson, rock dodging.
Ferguson and Hastings, 1 and 3. Brown, who grew up 10 minutes from Alex, would take second.
That’s it, that’s all from Alex, folks. Blenki rolling out with his daughter after claiming third.

Heading into Stop 2, the road trip has rolled into Queenstown.

If you’ve been following on social, you’ll know: this is the home of all the adventures. Riders have been doing heli rides, bungee jumping, wine tours, and taking in all the best of this vibrant mountain town. Summary: summer road trips + bike racing = good times.

Friday, the focus comes back to racing. Queenstown will be the host of two events during the Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand.

Friday, December 3: the Queenstown Pump Track will be broadcast live on Crankworx.com through Crankworx’s YouTube channel. Watch it live at 6-7:30 p.m. (New Zealand time), or check out the replay after. Highlights to follow!

Saturday, December 4: A new track awaits racers in Skyline Gravity Park. The DH will not be a live broadcast, but highlights will also be available after.

Meantime, keep following along on social to soak up all the fun in the sun from the ultimate New Zealand Crankworx roadie!