Crankworx World Tour

The Crankworx World Tour is a multi-stop series of mountain bike festivals, bringing together the best mountain bike athletes to compete in elite-level competitions in a variety of disciplines. It began in Whistler in 2004 and its festivals have since grown into the largest events of their kind in mountain biking.

The 2024 Crankworx World Tour will be travelling to Rotorua, Cairns, Innsbruck, and Whistler. Learn more about what goes on at each of these unique World Tour stops with the battle for King and Queen of Crankworx, Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship, Triple Crown of Slopestyle, and more.

Crankworx World Tour festivals also host races for amateurs, a category for CWNEXT (junior amateur) athletes, Kidsworx contests for our youngest riders, participatory events, and celebrations of mountain bike culture, all while showcasing amazing destinations.

SRAM MAXXIS Whistler Mountain Bike Park
RockShox Specialized Pinkbike Trailforks GoPro

King and Queen of Crankworx

The race to be crowned King or Queen of the Crankworx World Tour is the most difficult competition in mountain biking. This season-long, multidisciplinary challenge tabulates results across events, disciplines and World Tour stops, in an epic test of a riders’ skill and will. Racing from the Southern Hemisphere to the Alps and home to Whistler, athletes aim to collect as many points as possible for a shot at winning the $20,000 prize. The most points wins.

The top ranked athletes competing at the Crankworx World Tour are recognized through the following title and awards.

The two top ranked riders (male and female) will each receive $20,000 CAD. The second place overall riders (male and female) each receive $10,000 CAD. The third place overall riders (male and female) will each receive $5,000 CAD.

FMBA Freeride Mountain Bike Association

In 2018, Crankworx and the Freeride Mountain Bike Association (FMBA) created together the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship (SWC), a singular elite-level series of Slopestyle mountain biking events. Replacing the Crankworx Slopestyle World Tour and the FMB Diamond Series, events on the SWC represent the pinnacle of the Slopestyle discipline.  

In 2024, Crankworx and the FMBA introduced a women’s category to the SWC to host female competitors on FMB Diamond Level courses. Crankworx and the FMBA have long supported women in freeride mountain biking, resulting in the 2022 launch of the FMB World Tour Women’s Division to provide access to FMB Bronze and Silver Level courses and a pathway to the highest level of Slopestyle. 

The SWC men’s category hosts 14 riders, with the previous years’ top five male riders according to the SWC rankings and top ranked rider according to the Gold Cup Standings prequalifying for all SWC events of the following season. One Golden Ticket per SWC event, excluding the last SWC event of the season, will be awarded to the next top three ranked riders from the previous years’ Gold Cup Standings. The remaining athletes are confirmed six weeks before an SWC event as the next highest ranked riders behind the top six prequalified based on the FMB World Tour Ranking.

The SWC women’s category hosts six riders, with the top two female riders according to the SWC rankings from the previous year prequalifying for all SWC events of the following season. The remaining four athletes are confirmed six weeks before an SWC event as the next highest ranked riders, with a minimum of 500 points, behind the top two prequalified. 

In both categories, a place will be held on the start list at the first SWC event of the year for the Red Bull Rookie of the Year award winners of the previous season. Additionally, winners of Red Bull Joyride are granted lifetime entry to SWC events. With equal prize money, more than $500,000 is awarded across the SWC season each year, culminating with the Slopestyle World Champions claiming their respective crowns at the end of the season as the finish atop the rankings.

Emil Johansson winning Triple Crown at Crankworx Innsbruck

Triple Crown of Slopestyle

The Triple Crown of Slopestyle represents the near-impossible, as a rider must win three Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship (SWC) events in a single season to wear the crown. In 2015, the Triple Crown of Slopestyle was created to push the sport of mountain biking outside its limits with an award sitting just beyond the grasp of most riders. Available to both male and female SWC competitors, the crown is worth $25,000 CAD as the marquee event of the Crankworx World Tour. 

CWNEXT

CWNEXT (pronounced C-W-Next) includes categories for young men and women, in the following age classes: 13-14, 15-16, 17-18.

This category for the next generation is run alongside the main Crankworx events, separately from Kidsworx. It bridges the gap between Kidsworx and Crankworx competition and provides a development path for young athletes.

The creation of CWNEXT category involves the following:

  • the addition of new categories to existing events
  • the inclusion of younger racers in existing events
  • a shift of existing junior categories under the CWNEXT umbrella