Registration Open For Crankworx Innsbruck Featuring a New Downhill Track
Danny Hart, 2X champ on the Innsbruck DH track. Fraser Britton photo
PRESS RELEASE: Crankworx
When Crankworx Innsbruck launches 64 days from today, two new tracks will await the pros and amateurs set to descend on the Austrian Alps from June 12-16. This third iteration of the festival will include a new Downhill track as well as a new discipline with Dual Slalom added to the event roster.
Since its debut in 2017, the Innsbruck DH track has been a rider favourite, lauded for its raw feel and natural features. For 2019, the new track will see the racers descend into the heart of the Crankworx action in Mutters, the home base of the festival. Full course details will be released closer to June. While the track may be changing, with race action leading straight into the heart of the festival, the vibe is set to be next-level.
 | It’s super important to have new tracks so that the sport can grow and stay exciting. All racers get super pumped when there’s a new track or venue. It’s been a few years for Innsbruck now so it will be awesome to ride a new track. Racing Crankworx Innsbruck is really nice because the crowds are so excited and the place is so cool. |
Will the Crankworx DH champ go three for three in Innsbruck this year? Fraser Britton photo
2019 marks the first year Dual Slalom has been staged across the Crankworx World Tour. It’s now considered a core Crankworx Championship discipline, with Crankworx Dual Slalom World Champions (M/F) set to be crowned at the end of the season.
With this brings another new track to Innsbruck. Dual Slalom will be a completely new event to the Innsbruck roster and this brings with it a brand new track.
Hometown hero, Keegan Wright, on this way to a Dual Slalom win in Rotorua. Fraser Britton photo
| I’m really stoked to race a whole new dual slalom course in Innsbruck and show the people what it’s all about. I’m really stoked that it’s at every stop this year. It’s definitely one of my favourite events! I love that it brings most riders together from all the different disciplines and everyone just battles it out on a tight fast technical course. It’s such a spectacular event to be a part of and even more so to watch. I cannot wait for the next one being in Innsbruck! |
The event will be open to amateurs and pros, with the course built by New Zealand’s Elevate Trail Building crew, headed up by Tom Hey, known for his work on the Dual Slalom and Slopestyle tracks in Rotorua.
The discipline was added to the overall Crankworx World Tour roster in response to the enthusiasm of both riders and fans.
Seagrave vs. Verbeeck in Rotorua. Fraser Britton photo
In 2018, nearly 500 athletes from 26 different countries competed at Crankworx Innsbruck. As the tour, and the events on offer continue to grow, those numbers will continue to rise, with both events expected to sell out well in advance of race day.
Registration for the iXS Innsbruck Downhill presented by Raiffeisen Club is NOW OPEN: https://bit.ly/2I4yIqI
Registration for the 100% Dual Slalom Innsbruck is NOW OPEN: https://bit.ly/2I4yIqI
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But actually this one has hope, as it will be done by GL and not the local company “syndicate” who have been f*cking shit up at an incredible pace...
Hey IBK! How about a decent jump track or a fun flow trail? Maybe some handbuilt radness? It’s not all about Crankworx ????????♂️
@Zede: Developing mountain biking in the region is not like bringing Olympic level tourism, it's about allowing the people to enjoy the mountains on wheels rather than hiking shoes. The conservatism and protectionism of the area remains a huge bottleneck, and that's how some of the poorly drafted trails end up being what they are. Projects are allocated with minimal scrutiny of the true stakeholder satisfaction, and execution is far from state-of-the-art. The cycle repeats itself and little progress is made.
If I'm not mistaken, I think the usual suspects air-lifted the rock garden by helicopter up to Mutters last year for the DH trail, that's some next level waste of resources...Far more can be achieved with the budgets that are available in this side of the waters, if a bit of inspiration was taken from abroad.
Those in the know have seen what can be done with reasonably managed budgets, and a collaborative community, here are a few examples of built for the people projects:
www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-four-valle-bras-du-nord-2017.html
www.pinkbike.com/news/east-bound-and-down-the-kingdom-trails-2014.html
www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-three-sentiers-du-moulin.html
PS. Does anyone know if Lizum/Mutters and other resorts in the area even breakeven? The last I heard of was a nice -2M per annum. It would be a strong argument to build a development plan that positions theses resorts in a position that our tax payer money doesn't end up funding the Ugly Ski Day party, but maybe funds the development of projects that have a ROI on the community...
Haha, didn't know about the heli-rock-garden. Hilarious!
One of my favorite examples for collaborative community is Cannock Chase - www.chasetrails.co.uk
People don't realize we don't even need lifts.
At some point I actually wanted to get in touch with the landowners of the hills around Innsbruck and see if someone's whiling to do something given the law permits. There are also ways to profit of it.
As for the conservationists, I get it, I also love nature and want to preserve it, it's sad that I still meet random hikers who tell me how I'm destroying the trees when biking through the forest.
While in the distance, down in each valley there's at least one of these www.binderholz-feuerwerk.com/uploads/tx_frsupersized/FeuerWerk___SichtBAR_neu.gif
What bugs me as well is all those brands with headquarters in town who support Crankworks, if they only had the guts to apply some pressure at the right places and perhaps divert some resources to funding local trails...
Seems like a missed opportunity to me, getting in the hearts of the local people instead on their instagram feed, but that's another topic altogether.
But then again, we should be a bit more like Sabine Oswald instead of just complaining on the net!
I'm gonna make some effort this season, talk to some people, see what the issues are and what could be done.
Last time I checked, which was just last week because I was planning a trip, things were worded a bit differently. This now seems to suggest that at least the trails will actually be open, while it does say that the gondola will be closed in summer 2019. Perhaps just some maintenance work over the summer, like in Schladming?
On the plus side, I guess there won't be any braking bumps on that trail.
Lizum won't do anything that requires maintenance, or efforts, particularly if it does not bring at least 25K€/day like the least crowded winter week ends.
As for patscherkopfel, they spent almost 100 millions€ to build the new cable car + associated buildings and restaurants, and they were criticized so badly by the locals that I don't think they will dare investing in trail building and so on in the next few years.
I guess I'll be called a hater if I criticize so I won't say anything
But if I was Patscherkofel about to invest millions of euros in new infrastructure I'd look into all options of bringing more people both summer and winter. Does it not make sense to add a whole new demographic to come to your resort and use the facilities?
As for the Lizum argument, I don't think that's quite a fair comparison.
When the resort is open for skiing there are 7 lifts open and what 20 pistes?
That's a lot of expenses for piste grooming, avalanche safety, facility maintenance and staff.
In the summer however, there are two lifts already working, meaning the staff is already there and the lift maintenance is factored in, no avalanches...so it's not about this massive effort and investment that needs to happen.
It's minimal effort for another whole demographic going to the resort when it's actually relatively quiet.
Does this not make sense? Even if I didn't care about biking it seems quite logical from a business point of view. Or maybe I'm just delusional. Now, are they going to do something like that...probably not soon.
Now, I've been vocal about how the UK, an island with mostly hills and no lifts (apart from Fort William and Nevis Range), has some amazing riding spots and a lot of them available all year round, while here in the heart of the Alps things are...less than optimal for anything other than XC marathons.
While things are generally moving in the right direction, I'd love to do something about it. These guys have monthly meetings and people from the forestry commission also attend - www.facebook.com/MTBInnsbruck. I'm gonna go to the next one and see what's up and maybe voice my concerns.
FYI- Just heard Tom Pro and GL stepped out of the Bikepark IBK project because they were doing such a half-ass job in executing Tom's plan. So looks like, by default, now the new trails are falling into the hands of the (rotten log) locals again...
Hope we get some decent trails soon!
No you don't mate, I just entered without any UCI points.