Here we go. First day of practice is underway here in Rotorua as Crankworx is about to kick off its first event down in New Zealand. The feedback so far? Incredible. We caught up with Mick to check out the downhill track as he was training for the Polygon UR team.
The fact that this is shot on a pov camera and the jumps still look huge and the steep tech actually looks STEEP means that in real life it must be gnarlllyyyy because pov cams have a tendency to dull all the features.. Not this time though!
when i saw he would be racing here this past weekend i thought it was strange for him not to be in NZ, but then again, you have awesome spot's here and great weather,and probably you train better without that much competition
look's awesome the track, wish i could ride it
Some of the forested parts of this resemble the Cairns track in Australia, but this track is definitely much faster than Cairns with far less flat/pedally sections. The UCI needs to check this track out and consider it. Its a beauty.
Cairns when it is dry is a fucking sick track, hopefully wet season is over in 2016 because last year did not do it justice. After last year everyone is talking shit about it and Aus won't see a champ for years again.
All it takes to host a WC is for someone to step up and host one... in addition to the UCI approving it. As long as you fit the criteria that the UCI puts in place, you could host a world cup. Location also plays a factor in it, as I think the officials like to keep races somewhat central.
There have been many, many bids put in by Canadian and American promoters that have, for one reason or another, been turned down by the UCI. Even though all criteria were met and succeeded, another bid was just a little bit better. There have been multiple bids to host one at Sun Peaks, as well as other mountain resorts here in BC. Some have stuck, some haven't. Just the way it goes I guess...
All things being equal, YOU reading this can host any race you want to. You just have to step up and do it. Costs and logistics are staggering, but some cities and towns have funding in place for such big events. There is actually a lot of untapped funding for large sporting events, at least here in BC. Some cities will actually not only help with funding it, but providing the infrastructure to run it.
Wayne..as far as i understand it Cairns was supposed to (and the city had stepped up with the funding too) - and the UCI had even approved a three year run in to their worlds in 2017.....but there was some complaining by the teams and their 2015 slot was removed...I'd be interested to know if im wrong or not...maybe someone from cairns can enlighten me (and us)
I understood that both Cairns and NZ was possible for 2015 but Cairns couldn't put the funding together in time so they said no for 2015. 2016 is a go ahead for sure because they need to run 2 World Cups before hosting the world champs in 2017 (uci requirement). So everything got pushed back a year. As far as hosting a WC we'd love to here up in Nth east Victoria but it's too far away from an international airport to even get on the list
I am not sure how many times I can say stoked in one post but here it goes. Stoked that Crankworx is here and it is just down the road. Stoked that the venue is awesome and has got the thumbs up from riders. Stoked that all the riders and sponsors have made the effort to come here (we know it is a freaking long way). Stoked to be heading there for 3 days and actually seeing all of the pros in one place!!!
looks a bit smoother since Nats, George Branigans race run still insane, sure Mick was in slow mode and still mint as! but If George is racing still think he will be hard to beat here!
If you wanna see the carnage that happens on the track in the wet, go watch earthed 4. You will see how mangled everyone got in the steep loam section with those drops. You will also see rennie and minnaar hucking the grass field lake jump.
One word...........
WOW.......
No....
Ummmm......
FLYIN!!!!!
Ya........
FLYIN!
Awesome riding Mick!
They could make one hellofan amusement park ride outta that.
Universal Studioes look out!
Actually it only gets hard if you don't link everything together in the run into it. If you nail the off camber section and then nail the step-down then you generally have enough speed with maybe a couple of pedals. If you make a mess of the step-down before hand then life gets hard and consequential. It's a great track. The Empire of Dirt guys really added to what was already there from the '06 Worlds track. If people are wondering why so many bridges lower down,they are crossings over the luge track.
mmm that's why ! man I still believe that they made that jump bigger for the race (possible?). I watched Brunis course preview run and he made a huge crash on that jump by casing hard... here is the link: www.zapiks.fr/loic-bruni-dh-rotorua-new-ze.html at 3:15
The jump's the same as it was for Nationals last month. It claimed plenty of people then as well. It is a big jump for sure but the landing is hipped so you don't have to try and get all the way to the left hand side. It's a Nationals track and Crankworx man. Shit should be big especially if they are trying to get a World Cup round held here. Need something to keep the big boys honest.
Mostly likely He was riding the practice sessions, then got later told off for not having a plate.
Cairns tracked looked class last year, would love to see Rotarua no the WC circuit as well.
www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Blenkinsop/248332911846181?fref=ts
I mean, if it rains, then starts tacking up, riders will bog way down and it looks like they're just getting enough backside to be comfy.
www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152769816771699&fref=nf