Mountain Bikers converge on Rotorua
If you are not into mountain biking, the word Crankworx will
probably mean nothing to you, or it’s when traffic is crazier than usual and
the motels, camping grounds etc. in Rotorua are booked out, Eat Streat is full
to the brim and business owners are lapping up the extra spenders in town.
Crankworx the competition, began in Whistler, Canada in
2004, and spread down under to Rotorua in 2015.
The bikers in NZ last saw such
hot competition when the UCI Mountain Bike Trials and World Championships were
held at the ‘Taniwha’ in Whakarewarewa Forest in 2006.
The Rotorua Bike Festival inaugural MTB competition began
with the ‘Skyline Sprint Warrior’ in 2013 and this drew bikers from all over NZ to
compete (and enjoy the view?), it was also held there in 2014, 2016.
Since then Skyline Skyrides added to their Gravity Park to build a world class MTB
track in 2015, it is there that the a number of the Crankworx and Kidsworx events are held. The
event is annual and mountain bikers from around the world come here to compete.
Regular competitor Sam Blekinsop (NZ) is the current King of Crankworx.
Rotorua has also signed up for the competition to be held
here until 2027, so it seems we locals can expect the excitement (and drama)
every March.
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| The Bike Tree, where old bikes go when... this was built at the Lakefront to celebrate Crankworx in 2015. In 2017 it was dismantled due to safety concerns. |
