Home > MTB

Crankworx B.C. charts course for late September road trip

Series will culminate with Brett Rheeder-built slopestyle track at Silverstar

Photo by: Chris Pilling / Crankworx Summer Series

Crankworx is all set for its return to B.C. this fall. Dates are locked in and the worlds best are booking their tickets for a week of racing at some of Canada’s best mountains.

Unlike other years, where the festival has based itself in the hallowed hills of Whistler, B.C., Crankworx B.C. is taking a road trip approach to 2021. It’s similar to what happened in 2020, when Crankworx Summer Series highlighted local Canadian racers and stars. Except, with travel restrictions easing, the world is joining the party this year.

It all starts on September 22, kicking off fall with a bang at Sun Peaks Resort outside Kamloops, B.C. From there, the series will travel to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and SilverStar Mountain Resort for an action packed 10 days of racing.

Events will include downhill, dual slalom, pump track, speed and style as well as crowd favourite, the high flying acrobatics of slopestyle.

brett rheeder crankworx red bull joyride slopestyle
Brett Rheeder riding Red Bull Joyride in Whistler in 2018. Credit: Fraser Britton / Crankworx 2018

Brett Rheeder’s new slopestyle course at Silverstar

Crankworx tapped Red Bull Joyride winner Brett Rheeder to create a new course. In place of Whistler’s iconic Joyride course, the FMB slopestyle world tour event, the grand finale of Crankworx B.C., will take place at SilverStar. Rheeder’s spent two years working with fellow Canadian Matt MacDuff building a brand new course for the event.

“I’m excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on,” Rheeder said of the digging duo’s creation. “I truly think it will be a unique course that the riders will be able to throw down.”

“At the time, it was to build a progressive course with added smaller features blended into the bigger, more typical slopestyle features,” said Rheeder of the inspiration for the course. “The idea with this was to have a course more welcoming to less experienced riders. However, as time has gone by we were faced with some limitations with the construction and will no longer be adding the smaller features into the mix. The course will, however, be built for maximum progression. Slopestyle courses should be built where the riders don’t have to think about the course but rather on their tricks and runs being put together and it’s my goal to make sure that happens.”

“Working with Matt is great,” he added of the balance between he and MacDuff. “He brings a lot to the table with his ideas and work ethic. We’ve worked alongside for some time now so we both know how things need to get done and to what standard.”

Casey Brown racing at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort during Crankworx Summer Series 2020. Photo: Clint Trahan

Riders and live viewing

A full rider list and detailed schedule is expected to land in the coming weeks. But you can expect to see newly-minted Canadian downhill national champion Casey Brown on the roster alongside past-Queen of Crankworx Vaea Verbeeck. With the new dates landing after World Cup season wraps up, it’s possible a few big Canadian names will be mixed in with the usual Crankworx riders. Certainly the junior fields will be full of aspiring and speedy Canucks.

All of Crankworx B.C. will be broadcast live on Red Bull TV. The possibility of live audiences is still being considered. That will be determined closer to the event to allow organizers to fully assess what can be allowed safely.

Vaea Verbeeck racing Crankworx Summer Series at  Sun Peaks in 2020. Photo: Chris Pilling

2021 Crankworx B.C.

September 22-24: Sun Peaks Resort
September 26-28: Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
September 30-October 2: SilverStar Mountain Resort

Crankworx World Tour continues on to the southern hemisphere after its B.C. tour. New Zealand hosts the final stop with Crankworx Rotorua running from November 1-9, 2021. The three-stop series started with Crankworx Innsbruck in July.