With the first stop of the Crankworx World Tour suggesting France is poised to dominate gravity mountain biking, Crankworx Les 2 Alpes poses a question: Can France truly say it rules the cycling world?
Come Crankworx Les 2 Alpes, July 9-12, fans will be able to follow a fantasy-style competition, pitting a team of French athletes against a team of gravity mountain biking pros from all over the world, with an eye to flushing out whether the French are as big a force on trails as they are on cobblestone.
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France has long been the centre of road cycling, but its riders are clearly starting to pick up speed off-road as well, and their strong showing in Rotorua planted a seed. We believe Crankworx Les 2 Alpes could determine whether France is truly the global centre of cycling, so we set a friendly competition to find out,” says
Darren Kinnaird, Crankworx World Tour General Manager.
The rules of play are simple. Crankworx has appointed two captains, Crankworx Rotorua Downhill champion Loic Bruni and prospective Queen of the Crankworx World Tour Anneke Beerten, to select teams of 10 riders each. Bruni’s team will represent France, while Beerten pulls together the strongest gravity mountain bikers in the world to represent the rest of the planet.
Using the same point system as the World Tour’s new King and Queen ranking, the teams will then begin accumulating points with an eye to world domination. The team with the highest point total wins. And with the riders all stoked to shred three new courses in the French resort come July, this summer should find cycling fans locked into one serious showdown in the Alps.
Rider/builders Alex Dropsy and Nicolas Bertier have, thus, designed, built and rebuilt the D.S. & S. course (
formerly Dual Speed & Style), Slopestyle course and the Pump Track to increase the level of challenge.
The Slopestyle course retains the two whale tails onsite, but otherwise sees every feature on the hill fully reshaped or rebuilt. The Pump Track now pits rider against rider for the entire course, catering straight to the fan experience, and the D. S. & S. tracks see the two lines cross over one another, with one rider jumping one way and the other jumping over top for the kind of fast and steezy riding that has kept gravity addicts transfixed by the three year old sport.
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Our goal was to have something really nice and flowy, with a mix of banger features and technical stuff,” says
Dropsy, noting he’s proud to say it will be a “super clean” ride for the athletes.
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When we looked at our viewership and readership numbers after Rotorua, the commitment of French fans really shone, and with France consistently among the top ten, and often top five, countries watching as events unfolded, it was worth investing in the site, in upping the ante,” said
Darren Kinnaird, General Manager of the Crankworx World Tour.
Over the course of the four years since Crankworx arrived in France, the profile of mountain biking has become more prominent. It is expected Bruni, in particular, will have plenty of support on the sidelines as he goes for his second Crankworx DH Championship win in the Crankworx Les 2 Alpes DH presented by iXS – European Downhill Cup. Bruni is currently locked in a four-way tie for fourth spot in the King of the Crankworx World Tour standings, but poised for the DH Series win.
And on the women’s course, European mountain biking fans will be glued to British sports idol Rachel Atherton, as she tries to add another notch to her belt in the chase for the women’s first Crankworx DH Championship victory and its accompanying $10,000 prize pot.
VIP packages to catch all the action are still available. Priced from 110€ per person, a three-day VIP access gets fans a front-row seat to watch in style, enjoying drinks and appies, three nights of accommodation and a three-day pass for mountain biking.
Curious how it will all unfold? Check out the new
Crankworx World Tour Les 2 Alpes preview video.
Mountain biking’s defining celebration descends on the French Alps for the fourth year from July 9-12, 2015, bringing MTB stoke to the country renown as the centre of cycling.
Through dirt, sweat and cheers, Crankworx celebrates the epic endurance, supreme flow, monster air and heart-stopping drops of gravity mountain biking. Anointed by dirt, powered by passion, the Crankworx World Tour travels to Rotorua, New Zealand, Les Deux Alpes, France and culminates in its Canadian home base of Whistler, B.C.
MENTIONS:
@officialcrankworx
www.squamish.ca/yourgovernment/news/pinkbike-headquarters-move-to-squamish
does someone need a nap?
I have money, dont have any criminals records, have my apartment and car so why not get that racist Visa??? Did an abdominal hernia cirurgy one month and a half ago and I can ride downhill only in october where the park is closed so for me the Visa dinied is no problem at all. I just wanted to go to Whistler to know the place since I've been in Vancouver for one day and night back in the 90'. I wanted to stay in a 3 -4 star hotel, rent a car and buy a 10thousand dollar dream enduro bike to ride the open trails outside the park in october but I hate cold, have this tropical blood so for me is no problem if I dont go this year. Maybe I will go to Finale Ligure in October and ride Italy and Spain trails. Crankworks really blown everyones mind saying thay the center of the cycling world saying that the center of the cucling universe is not the place people think it is....
but I am so happy that you was pissed off with me!!! So happy!!! Spent almos 200dollars to try this Visa and now the money is gonne since the Visa was dinnied. But I have money to do 100trips to anywhere I want...
I cant say im sorry cause im use to send people to that place I am not allowd here so... I AM HAPPYYYYY NOW!!!! I just want to desagree with the comment that say Brazil has nice people. Brazil was colonized by all criminals and vagabonds from countrys in Europe so only a few people here are nice and educated. Bigger part of the people just do illegal stuff, drug deallers, criminals and kidnepers are all here in Brazil cause Justice is so shity and corrupted. Police oficers are seen doing all the illegal shit, they drink alcool while are driving police cars, are freind of all drug deallers ans criminals... so Brazil has very few fine people. If you want to bash me anyway go on, Im an old man dont give a shit to anything... I preserve very well my Punk thinking that give a shit to anything and anyone...
Brasil doesnt need you and are what President of Brasil hahahahahahahahahahahaha or you think I care what you say or think hahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahaha
you reported me????? Im not allowd to answer that in my way so you know the answer... or ypu think got blocked in PB is a big deal??? Maybe if you are under 18!!!
but as a fellow mountain biker and as @caste1200 said, I am actually glad you are having fun.
I am running a conti dh keiser 2.5 in front, i actually bought it in good faith from my LBS (the original plan was magic mary). Der Keiser felt completely opposite from the Hans Dampf, it really grips to a point that i have to pedal a bit harder on flat and uphill but it also makes me touch my front break fewer times on DH. Do you feel something similar with the Magic Mary in front?
Cuz you need to. If you come to Mexico let me know. I'll show you some nice trails. But you need to stop being butthurt first. Hahaha you made my day.
But.... if it has to be France, im ok with that as its only an hour or 2 on a plane
Has anyone here ever been to Chamonix/Mt. Blanc? Not really a huge MTB destination, but anyone with a passion for mountains should go there at least once.
:P
Between Canada and France, who has the best beer?
Answer-
Canada
therefore, by default France cannot be the center.
Case closed.