Crankworx has been around for a while, pulling together the biggest pool of talented riders in the world. Even better, it’s not just one type of riding – you’ve got downhill, slopestyle, people who whip bikes around while wearing flip flops (looking at you, Eddie Masters)… Even better, since 2012 it’s also been in Europe, in Les Deux Alpes.
Their description is “a five day celebration of jaw-dropping riding, expo and product demos, music and parties”, summing it all up as “the world’s best athletes battling it out for freeride glory”. It sure is that.
The basics:
Where?
Here.
Is it going to be pissing it down?
Possibly.
Schedule
It’s kicking off today with the European Whip-off Championships. The Air DH, probably the most famous event, is on Sunday (with training on Saturday), the Pumptrack Challenge is tomorrow (Friday), as is the Dual Speed and Style, with the Slopestyle on Saturday.
If that didn’t make sense, here’s the simple rundown.
This is the first ever “FMB World Tour Diamond Series” event. These are the events that the FMB World Tour judges as the hardest in the world, and as there are only 5 in the year, it’ll be closely contested.
Bets are best placed on Brandon Semenuk, who’s won for the last two years straight. It’s not a closed result yet though – the list of competitors is one huge name after another.
And here’s the video rundown from last year…
Events rundown
Pumptrack Challenge
Riders go head-to-head chasing each other around a pumptrack.
Dual Speed and Style
Think dual slalom, but with points thrown in for doing tricks. Last year looked a lot like this. Extra points for spotting Dirt tea boy Ben Winder slacking sitting on the grass instead of taking photos.
SlopestyleMassive tricks from the world’s best freeriders.
Whip-off Champs
Everyone loves seeing riders so sideways they’re nearly backwards – and some that lay it so low they’re nearly upside down as well.
Air DH
Think downhill racing, but with some unthinkably big jumps…
You’ll be able to watch a live feed of what goes down on Red Bull – keep your eyes peeled.