For 10 days (July 15 to July 24), Whistler become the epicenter of the mountain bike world, with all the best downhill and freeride athletes from around the globe as well as recreational athletes from all over.
This year Crankworx is launching with a throwback, the return of the once annual Fat Tire Crit on Friday, July 15. It's been eight years since the last time mountain bike racers did laps of the village stroll, but Crankworx manager Darren Kinnaird thought it was time to bring it back.
"It was a great, fun community event in the past and we're always looking for new ways to combine sport and entertainment and tie it into the village together... so it seemed like a really great fit for the (Olympic Plaza) area with all the music and entertainment that weekend," he said.
The original fat tire criteriums were held along the Village Stroll. However, closing the busy stroll for a race proved to be too challenging and the event went by the wayside.
The new location at Whistler Olympic Plaza won't have those issues or hamper people getting to stores and restaurants.
The event is open to mountain bikes only, with an 800 metre lap that includes several corners, a chicane to slow riders up and a straightaway section for sprinting and passing.
The rules are the same as other criteriums. The Fat Tire Crit will get underway with a mass start and will be decided by time rather than distance. If riders are lapped they're eliminated and judges will also pare down the field as the laps count down and there are just eight riders left. A bell will ring to let riders know if the next lap is a prime lap (for extra cash) and when it's the last lap of the race. All categories will race for roughly half an hour, with the women riding at 6 p.m. and the men at 7 p.m.
There's some good prize money up for grabs - $1,300 for the top male, $600 for second, $400 for third, $300 for fourth and $200 for fifth and $1,000, $500, $250, $200 and $100 respectively for the women. As well an additional $500 is available for both men and women on prime laps.
That night there will be live entertainment at Whistler Olympic Plaza with Kostaman and K'Naan on the stage.
To take part, registration is available online at www.crankworx.com until July 14 for $50, and you can register at the start line for an extra $10 surcharge.
Crankworx is also going to end with a new event on July 24. Although this isn't the first year for the Canadian Open Enduro, this year the event is being combined with the Richie's Rally race from last year to create a real European-style Enduro race where riders are timed on the downhill sections only, and can socialize while they climb to the next start line.
There will be five downhill sections that will take three to 10 minutes for the top pros to race, with a total race time of roughly 30 to 35 minutes over several hours of climbing and descending.
The first stage includes World Cup Singletrack, Ho Chi Min and Heart of Darkness; the second stage is Treacherous Cretins into Lost Lake Park - Central Scrutinizer, Treacherous Cretins, Toads of the Short Forest, Gee I like Your Pants, Son of Mr. Green Genes and Jelly Roll Gum Drop; the third stage is Grand Wazoo in Lost Lake; the fourth stage is Golden Boner, Roam in the Loam and Magic Trails on Blackcomb; the fifth stage is to the top of Containers to In Deep. Little Alder, Expressway, Too Tight or D1 (rider choice), Upper Angry Pirate, Lower Angry Pirate, Samurai Pizza Cat, up B-Line connector, down Lower Whistler Downhill, Hornet and GLC Drops.
There is $8,000 in prize money for the pro riders and prizes for amateur racers.
And, to make things more interesting, riders have to choose one bike and one set of wheels for the entire race.
Registration is $55 for amateurs and $65 for pros.
The Far Tire Crit and Canadian Open Enduro bookend a busy eight days of events, most of which are open to the public.
July 16 - Dual Slalom
July 17 - Canadian Open Downhill
July 19 - Garbanzo DH
July 20 - Jeep Air Downhill
July 21 - Teva Best Trick Showdown and Ultimate Pump Track Challenge
July 22 - Giant Slalom and Kidsworx/Trialsworx
July 23 - Trialsworx and Red Bull Joyride (Invitation only)
According to Kinnaird, registration is going strong which means that early registration is a must - many events, including the Air Downhill, sell out every year.
It's also been a difficult year for at least one event - the annual Garbanzo DH. A crew of 10 has been working to clear all the snow from the track, which should be completed this week, after which point they will spend some time cleaning and armouring the trail for the race. It should be open for a few days to the public and at the very least for training runs, said Kinnaird.
For spectators, things will also be different this year with additional screens at the bottom of the mountain, HD broadcasts, global webcasts with Freecaster.tv, RedBull.tv, PinkBike.com and others, and some on course cameras from event partners at GoPro Helmet Cams.
"One of the really neat opportunities this year is working with GoPro cameras," said Kinnaird. "They will be daisy-chaining some GoPros on some of the race courses to capture footage as riders come down through the course. That's something we've wanted for a long time, but will be new this year and it will allow us to capture footage and angles we've never been able to before."
For more on the festival, visit www.crankworx.com.
