Crankworx World Tour expands for 2016
Originally posted on November 30, 2015 at 18:38 pmPRESS RELEASE — Crankworx World Tour announced it’s adding Les Gets, France, to the family. Crankworx begins in Rotorua, New Zealand, March 9-13, 2016, and will hit Les Gets the following month for a June 15-19 run. The event returns to its Whistler home base in British Columbia, Canada, for a 10-day event staged August 12-21.
Nestled in the 12-resort Portes du Soleil circuit and straddling the French-Swiss border, Les Gets is a pioneer destination for both mountain bike tourists and racers.
“Back in the 80s, Les Gets was one of the first regions in the world to use its lifts to shuttle riders and its 2004 UCI World Championships is the stuff of legends,” said Darren Kinnaird, Crankworx World Tour general manager. “This is a location steeped in the culture and history of our sport and we are thrilled to be adding the region to the World Tour.”
Having hosted five World Cups and numerous French nationals, many mountain biking fans the world over are familiar with the area’s steep, verdant alpine terrain. Les Gets’ World Championship is remembered as the beginning of Frenchman Fabien Barel’s Downhill dominance and his storied rivalry with British rider Steve Peat (who announced he will retire following the 2016 racing season).
The 2016 season marks the sophomore year of the Crankworx World Tour and the return of its four-series format, the Triple Crown of Slopestyle and the race to crown the next King and Queen of the Crankworx World Tour.
There is now a whole slate of champions ready to defend their titles in the Crankworx DH Championships, the Pump Track Challenge Series, the Speed & Style World Championships and the Crankworx Slopestyle Championships. And its expected the Queen of the Crankworx World Tour, Anneke Beerten, and King of the Crankworx World Tour, Bernard Kerr, will be looking to up the ante once more to hang on to their new status as the top all-round mountain bike athletes in the world.
