Crankworx Whistler changes to new July dates
Shift from traditional August week is part of a shake-up of Crankworx World Tour
Photo by:
Fraser Britton / Crankworx
There are big changes coming to Crankworx World Tour as the festival prepared to celebrate its 20th year. The globetrotting series calendar is completely shifted compared to 2022. For Canadian fans, the big news will be a shift from Crankworx Whistler’s traditional August week to a new July date for 2023.
UPDATE [12/21/22]: Crankworx Innsbruck take place June 21-25, 2023
Crankworx Whistler moves to July
Canadian mountain bikers will get to celebrate two decades of Crankworx Whistler a little earlier than usual. After years in its August spot (Aug. 5-14 in 2022), the original Crankworx stop shifts into late July for the first time in 2023. The world will arrive in Whistler for July 21-30 this year.
The exact schedule of events for Crankworx Whistler could look a little different, too. For several years, the Enduro World Series’ only Canadian stop occupied Crankworx’ opening weekend. The EWS still hasn’t released its full 2023 calendar but Discovery, the series’ new organizer, shared a preliminary World Cup/EWS calendar that hints at a mid-September date. That would coincide with the other two North American events, the Mont-Sainte-Anne and Showshoe, W.Va World Cup rounds, on Discovery’s schedule. It would also make Whistler the final EWS stop for 2023, which could be a dramatic homecoming for Jesse Melamed as he tries to defend his 2022 EWS championship win.
Crankworx Whistler’s July spot could also help it attract more international riders, sitting in the eight-ish week break between European World Cup rounds in the lask weekend of June in Italy and late August in Andorra.
Crankworx World Tour shuffles schedule
It is not just Whistler that shifts. The Crankworx World Tour calendar is significantly restructured for 2023.
After two years as the final CWT stop, Rotorua returns to its role as the opening round of racing with a March 18-26 spot.
Crankworx Cairns made its debut in 2022. It’s back for a second year, but with a new spot in May to keep athletes in the southern hemisphere after the New Zealand season opener.
Innsbruck’s event is still floating as of writing.* The Austrian Crankworx stop had a mid-June spot in 2022. If that stays consistent, then Whistler would return to its usual role as the final stop of the Crankworx World Tour, a role it hasn’t had since 2019.
*Crankworx Innsbruck will keep its mid-June spot, running from June 21-25, 2023. [Update: Dec. 21/2022]
Crankworx Summer Series
The Crankworx Summer Series started in B.C. as a way to get back to racing during the early days of the pandemic. The format continued in 2022 with two Summer Series; one in Quebec and one in New Zealand. The latter is back, though with a new spot in late February that should help riders tune up their race skills before Crankworx Rotorua in March. There’s no news yet on whether the Quebec series will be back for 2023.
2023 Crankworx World Tour
Rotorua: March 18-26, 2023
Cairns: May 17-21, 2023
Innsbruck: June 21-25
Whistler: July 21-30, 2023
2023 Crankworx Summer Series
New Zealand: February 28 – March 12, 2023