Rotorua Stats & Facts
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 has since grown into the largest event of its kind in mountain biking.
Elite riders battle at each stop for individual event supremacy and, while doing so, earn points toward an overall prize, considered by many to be the most difficult in mountain biking. The titles of King and Queen of Crankworx are awarded at the end of the season to athletes who’ve shown their multidisciplinary mastery over the course of the season, amassing points across events, festivals and continents. In addition, the tour includes five series events in the disciplines of Downhill, Pump Track, Speed & Style, Dual Slalom, and Slopestyle. Each Crankworx World Tour stop features each of these disciplines. In addition to the King and Queen of Crankworx points, athletes accumulate points across individual disciplines. At the end of the season, series champions are crowned in all five.
Rotorua
March 1-8, 2020
Location: Crankworx Rotorua takes place in the Central North Island of New Zealand set amongst rainforests, surrounded by pristine lakes and steaming geothermal landscapes of bubbling mud pools and shooting geysers. This Spa of the Southern Seas features thermal bathing and exhilarating adventure experiences, world-class mountain biking and a rich heritage, all in New Zealand’s cradle of Māori culture and history. Crankworx competitions are based out of Skyline Rotorua, home to the Skyline Gravity Bike Park, and the Whakarewarewa (/Fah-kah-ray-wah-ray-wah/) Forest. New Zealand’s coolest hot spot truly embodies the spirit of Crankworx, celebrating the trails that bring people from all over the world to Rotorua, as well as the dirt gold, the culture and the spirit of the people.
History: Crankworx Rotorua was announced in August 2014, marking the first time the festival set down in the southern hemisphere. It launched in March 2015 and was immediately embraced by residents and visitors. 2020 will mark the sixth time Crankworx will kick off its season in New Zealand, something that’s set to continue – in December 2016 a 10-year contract was signed, ensuring many more years of magic from Crankworx Rotorua.
Crankworx Rotorua by the numbers (2019)
Days: 6
Spectators: 43,000
Pro Athletes: 1037
Kidsworx Competitors: 335 (nearly double 2018)
Volunteers: 490
Events: 17