The Road to Royalty 2018
Here’s what you need to know about the tracks, points and players as the battles for the titles of King and Queen of Crankworx launch
ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND March 15, 2018 – One day from the start gate, the most difficult competition in mountain biking is about to kick off for another year.
Taking the battle to the next level, 2018 will see the crowning of a Royal Family of the Crankworx World Tour. As in past years, the King and Queen will be named at the end of the season. They’ll each receive $20,000 CAD for their efforts, while for the first time the second place overall riders will receive $10,000 CAD each, and third overall will each receive $5,000 CAD.
Other changes for this year include the addition and re-introduction of some key events, including an all-new DH race in Rotorua, Dual Slaloms in Rotorua and Les Gets, and the return of the Whip-Off to the points battle across the tour. Overall, points are up for grabs at 30 events for men and 22 for women.
Who’s on deck? Some top contenders who’ve thrown their names in the hat on the women’s side include reigning Queen Jill Kintner (USA), Casey Brown (CAN), Tahnée Seagrave (GBR), Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI), Vaea Verbeeck (CAN), and Cecile Ravanel (FRA), who won’t be competing in Rotorua but will be on the hunt for points when the Crankworx World Tour hits Europe. Noticeably absent from this list is 2017’s second runner up Caroline Buchanan (AUS) who’s recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident.
As for the men, defending King Adrien Loron (FRA) will be back at it, as will Tomas Slavik (CZE), Sam Blenkinsop (NZL), Barry Nobles (USA), Bas van Steenbergen (CAN), Austin Warren (USA), Bernard Kerr (GBR), who’s out in Rotorua with a broken foot but hoping to get back in the game in Europe, and, similarly, Jack Moir, who’ll be missing Crankworx Rotorua with a back injury.
For 2018, competitions include (*denotes events new to the King/Queen battle in 2018):
Crankworx Rotorua – March 17-25, 2018
Giant Toa Enduro presented by CamelBak
Official Oceania Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK*
Mons Royale Dual Speed & Style Rotorua
Crankworx Rotorua Air DH
RockShox Rotorua Pump Track Challenge presented by Torpedo7
Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza
Crankworx Rotorua Downhill
Redwoods Downhill*
100% Dual Slalom Rotorua*
Crankworx Innsbruck – June 13-17, 2018
Official Alpine Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK*
RockShox Innsbruck Pump Track Challenge
Mons Royale Dual Speed & Style Innsbruck
Crankworx Innsbruck Slopestyle presented by Kenda
iXS Innsbruck Downhill presented by Raiffeisen Club
Crankworx Les Gets – June 20-24, 2018
Official European Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK*
Muc-Off Dual Speed & Style Les Gets
RockShox Les Gets Pump Track Challenge
Crankworx Les Gets Slopestyle
Crankworx Les Gets Downhill
Crankworx Les Gets Mont-Chéry DH
100% Dual Slalom Les Gets*
Crankworx Whistler – August 10-19, 2018
CamelBak Canadian Open Enduro presented by Specialized
Canadian Open DH presented by iXS
CLIF Dual Speed & Style presented by Muc-Off
Fox Air DH
Garbanzo DH
100% Dual Slalom Whistler
Official Whip-Off World Championships presented by SPANK*
Red Bull Joyride
RockShox Ultimate Pump Track Challenge
Kicking things off in Rotorua, all eyes will be on certain key events, including the Giant Toa Enduro presented by CamelBak, with an impressive 225 points on offer for top finishers, the all-new Redwoods DH, bringing the total number of Downhill events in Rotorua to an unprecedented three, the 100% Dual Slalom Rotorua, making its debut in the Southern Hemisphere this year, and the “bigger and better” RockShox Rotorua Pump Track Challenge presented by Torpedo7, according to course builder Adam King of Empire of Dirt, the team tasked with re-imagining the iconic Crankworx course.
For details of how the battles are shaping up, check out the details on Pinkbike and get the details on the Crankworx Rotorua live webcast schedule.
The Crankworx World Tour, and the battle for points on the road to crowning a new King and Queen, will be coming to you LIVE, and on demand, on all your devices on crankworx.com.
The quest to be crowned the Slopestyle World Champion will be coming to you LIVE, and on demand, on all your devices exclusively on Red Bull TV and crankworx.com. For news and highlights from the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship: crankworx.com
Keep up to date on all the latest from the FMB World Ranking: fmbworldtour.com
Get the latest on everything bike related on the Red Bull Bike channel: redbull.tv/bike
King and Queen media photos: Dropbox
General resources: Media kit
News: Press releases
Start lists and results: Results
Photos: Flickr
Info on the stars of Crankworx: Biographies
Schedules: Crankworx Rotorua, Crankworx Innsbruck, Crankworx Les Gets, Crankworx Whistler
About the Crankworx World Tour
The Crankworx World Tour is where ordinary humans perform the extraordinary and launch into the realm of the unimaginable. From slopestyle ninjas to downhill champs and enduro experts, sideways steeze-masters, slalom slayers and pump track pros – they all ride faster, climb further, fly higher, and go bigger than what was once thought to be possible, taking on the world and the challenges set before them with seemingly superhuman power and passion. In 2018, Crankworx brings their feats of two-wheeled magic to four stops around the world. Come along for the ride as the Crankworx World Tour travels to Rotorua, New Zealand (March 17-25), Innsbruck, Austria (June 13-17) and Les Gets, France (June 20-24), before bringing it home to Whistler, Canada for the 15th year of Crankworx competition (August 10-19).
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Media Contact:
Julia Montague | Communications Manager, Crankworx World Tour
julia@crankworx.com