Six Canadians on rider list headed to Crankworx Rotorua in November
Brett Rheeder is back!
Photo by:
Kike Abelleira / Crankworx
Brett Rheeder is one of six Canadians headed back to New Zealand for Crankworx Rotorua 2021, just not for the event you might expect. The renowned Ontario slopestyle rider isn’t contesting his usual event. Instead, Rheeder’s heading to New Zealand to race downhill.
Rheeder’s new direction is just one of the highlights of today’s announcement from Crankworx. Read on to see what else is new for the three-stop World Tour.
Crankworx Rotorua gets special permission to go ahead
Crankworx Rotorua was the last event to be held pre-COVID, back in early 2020. After some delays, the Crankworx World Tour is aiming to be back for the final top of the 2021 tour. The event will take place from November 1-7 in Rotorua.
Riders and staff are able to head south, where strict travel restrictions remain, since Crankworx was included on a list of Government-approved events. A select number of athletes and key personnel deemed critical to the event have been granted entry to the country by Immigration NZ.
Six Canadians on the rider list
That news has Canada’s Queen of Crankworx – Vaea Verbeeck – excited at the prospect of finally getting back to Rotorua.
“I am frothing to be back in New Zealand!” said Vaea Verbeeck. “After being there in March 2020 last, the world turned into a much different place to navigate and Crankworx Rotorua was the last time we lived as per usual. I know it will still be different going back this time, but part of me feels like I’m going back to my happy place.”
Bas van Steenbergen, who led the King of Crankworx points race when the 2020 was cut short after Rotorua, is also looking forward to making his return.
“I’m super excited to head back to Rotorua, I always love being there and it somewhat feels like a home away from home for us,” said van Steenbergen. “I’m definitely feeling pretty confident having done well there in the past, so hopefully I can close out the King of Crankworx chase strong!”
Along with the King and Queen of Crankworx, Rotorua will be the final stop of the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championships. Emil Johansson currently leads that race.
“After some challenging times with travel I am really looking forward to getting back to NZ for Crankworx,” said Emil Johansson, who won the Slopestyle event in Rotorua in 2020. “I am going to try to do a run that I am happy with and up the run I did 2020.”
Rotorua will also mark the first slopestyle in a while to include a Canadian. Griffin Paulson has earned a spot on the 14-rider list for the Crankworx Rotorua Slopetyle.
Rotorua replaces Whistler as finale of Crankworx World Tour
For as long as Crankworx has existed, Whistler has always held down its spot as the final round. That made the B.C. resort town the place where King and Queen of Crankworx were crowned. Now, Rotorua is taking that spot as the grand finale. Not just for this year, when Crankworx B.C. has replaced Crankworx Whistler. But for years to come.
Going forward, Crankworx Rotorua will shift permanently to the final stop of the Crankworx World Tour, closing out mountain bike competition season.
“We are thrilled to be the grand finale of Crankworx season going forward,” said Crankworx Rotorua Event Director Ariki Tibble. “While the Northern Hemisphere is wrapping competition season and gearing up for winter in late October and early November, New Zealand is in the thick of spring. The dirt is prime, the energy is high, and the appetite to get out and celebrate is on another level. To be able to bring all this together and share it with our mountain bike family will be something special. While this year we can’t invite the world to celebrate with us in person to preserve the health and safety of our island home, we are beyond thrilled to be able to host some of the world’s top athletes. We look forward to putting on a great show for our local crowds and for fans around the world on Red Bull TV in 2021, and to welcoming everyone back to New Zealand for Crankworx in 2022.”
For Crankworx Managing Director Darren Kinnaird, the shift to Rotorua is a fitting way to close out a hectic two years for the Crankworx World Tour.
“Coming back to Rotorua feels like we’re bookending a very strange chapter in our history,” said Kinnaird. “Things were relatively normal the last time we were all together in New Zealand. The Crankworx World Tour was kicking off as usual in 2020. We had begun to hear whispers of COVID, but it wasn’t until the event wrapped and everyone got home that the world shut down. Since then, as event producers, we’ve had to draw on every ounce of creativity and tenacity we have. While not always easy, it has paid off. Our athletes have been able to keep competing. The media are still out there shooting and sharing the stories of our sport – a sport that’s progressed rapidly over the past year. And our fans have had something to look forward to and get excited about. Through it all, I am proud to say our team has never stopped pushing for what we believe in: creating opportunities, sharing our passion, celebrating the culture of mountain biking and the places steeped in the sport, and doing it all safely. I want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to all those who were pushing and cheering alongside us over the past year and a half. We are here, preparing to wrap the final event of a full Crankworx World Tour in 2021, because of you. We’ve got some big things coming, and we can’t wait to share them.”
Rider List: Crankworx Rotorua 2021. (Nov. 1-7)
King and Queen of Crankworx contenders
Tim Bringer (FRA)
Tomas Lemoine (FRA)
Ed Masters (NZL)
Bas van Steenbergen (CAN)
Keegan Wright (NZL)
Georgia Astle (CAN)
Casey Brown (CAN)
Danielle Beecroft (AUS)
Harriet Burbidge-Smith (AUS)
Robin Goomes (NZL)
Kialani Hines (USA)
Vaea Verbeeck (CAN)
Slopestyle Competitors:
Emil Johansson (SWE)
Nicholi Rogatkin (USA)
Torquato Testa (ITA)
Erik Fedko (GER)
Tim Bringer (FRA)
Paul Couderc (FRA)
Lucas Huppert (SUI)
Tomas Lemoine (FRA)
Max Fredriksson (SWE)
Lukas Knopf (GER)
Jakub Vencl (CZE)
Tom Isted (GBR)
Marcel Hunt (GBR)
Griffin Paulson (CAN)
Bernd Winkler (AUT) (ALT1)
Lukas Schäfer (GER) (ALT2)
Other top international riders headed to N.Z.
Tuhoto Ariki-Pene (NZL)
George Brannigan (NZL)
Caroline Buchanan (AUS)
Martha Gill (GBR)
Mikey Haderer (USA)
Brett Rheeder (CAN) (racing DH only!)
Katy Winton (GBR)
Events: Crankworx Rotorua 2021
Fans around the world will be able to tune into live coverage of Crankworx Rotorua 2021 on Red Bull TV, including:
- Specialized Dual Slalom Rotorua
- CLIF Speed & Style Rotorua presented by Mons Royale
- Maxxis Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza
- RockShox Pump Track Rotorua presented by Torpedo7
- Crankworx Rotorua Downhill presented by Gull
Highlights and additional coverage will be available for:
