Crankworx Announces DH Plans for 2023 Including $130,000 Prize Money & Rob Warner On the Mic
This vibe + Crankworx. Photo: Dave Trumpore
2023 Downhill season is set to be one for the history books, with big changes rolling out from all sides. We are stoked to announce our up-leveled plans for downhill mountain bike racing today, including the following:
• Rob Warner as the voice of Crankworx DH in 2023, with co-host Eliot Jackson.
• Crankworx DH action on Red Bull TV at all four stops (in addition to Crankworx’s other core disciplines).
• Elevated coverage of all Crankworx DH races, with more cameras to capture more of the action for fans following along from home.
• Crankworx World Tour Downhill Championship titles, to be awarded to the M/F riders with the highest points total over the course of the Crankworx season.
• The launch of the 1199 Award, an all-new prize in downhill mountain bike racing. Named in honour of Stevie Smith’s legendary points total, the award puts CAD 10,000 up for grabs, for male and female pros respectively, for a racer who can crack 1199 points over the course of their Crankworx DH season, thereby completing the Quest for 1199. If the feat is not achieved in a year, the prize money carries over, and the pot grows. Full details below.
• In 2023, a four-stop Crankworx World Tour DH Championship series bookended with firsts. In March in Rotorua, racing will kick off with a first-ever broadcast from the Whakarewarewa and Tītokorangi forest in Rotorua. In July in Whistler, the Crankworx DH season will wrap with the first race on the new 1199 track in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. More details to come on both.
• With prize money up for grabs at all four Crankworx DH races, plus the overall and the 1199 prize pot, a total of approximately CAD 130,000 is up for grabs for elite downhillers competing at Crankworx in 2023.
• Crankworx DH action on Red Bull TV at all four stops (in addition to Crankworx’s other core disciplines).
• Elevated coverage of all Crankworx DH races, with more cameras to capture more of the action for fans following along from home.
• Crankworx World Tour Downhill Championship titles, to be awarded to the M/F riders with the highest points total over the course of the Crankworx season.
• The launch of the 1199 Award, an all-new prize in downhill mountain bike racing. Named in honour of Stevie Smith’s legendary points total, the award puts CAD 10,000 up for grabs, for male and female pros respectively, for a racer who can crack 1199 points over the course of their Crankworx DH season, thereby completing the Quest for 1199. If the feat is not achieved in a year, the prize money carries over, and the pot grows. Full details below.
• In 2023, a four-stop Crankworx World Tour DH Championship series bookended with firsts. In March in Rotorua, racing will kick off with a first-ever broadcast from the Whakarewarewa and Tītokorangi forest in Rotorua. In July in Whistler, the Crankworx DH season will wrap with the first race on the new 1199 track in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. More details to come on both.
• With prize money up for grabs at all four Crankworx DH races, plus the overall and the 1199 prize pot, a total of approximately CAD 130,000 is up for grabs for elite downhillers competing at Crankworx in 2023.
 | Crankworx is all about creating the ultimate experience in mountain biking. With that in mind, we have re-imagined what Crankworx Downhill is for 2023. We've got the opportunity to bring some of the world's best to race in these amazing locations. We've got a dream team in the booth, elevated coverage, and a unique new award for athletes to chase in the 1199 Award. We hope that fans will have as much fun, whether they are trackside or watching on Red Bull TV, as the athletes who come to compete at Crankworx do. We are stoked with what we have planned for DH in 2023. |
The Bulldog on the Taniwha DH track in 2022, and elite DH riders getting a preview of the 1199 track during Crankworx Whistler 2022. Photos: Cam Mackenzie and Chris Pilling
The 1199 Award (also referred to as “the 1199”) will be awarded to a rider whose outstanding performance over the course of the Crankworx Downhill season pushes them to achieve a points total in excess of 1199 in the 1199 Award Standings. The first rider (male and female) to reach 1200+ points in the standings, thereby completing the Quest for 1199, wins the 1199 Award, and a prize of CAD 10,000.
The Quest for 1199 is open to all pro men and women.
If the feat is not achieved in a season, the prize money rolls over to the following year, until the 1199 points total is surpassed, and the award is claimed. The prize pot grows and the stakes get higher every year the award is not claimed.
1199 is a reference to Canadian downhiller Stevie Smith’s legendary points total from his 2013 overall World Cup title.
A nod to the past as we push forward to what's next. Stevie on the Canadian Open DH track, and a particular rock, in 2013. We're moving into a new chapter, bringing Stevie's legacy, and the legacy of Crankworx DH racing, to a new DH track for Crankworx Whistler 2023. Photo: Sven Martin
Points are up for grabs at all RockShox Crankworx Downhill races over the course of the season. There are four races in total, staged in the following locations:
• Rotorua, New Zealand
• Cairns, Australia
• Innsbruck, Austria
• Whistler, Canada
The points structure and rules are detailed here: DH titles and points structure
The goal is to introduce a new challenge in downhill mountain bike racing, award Crankworx’s fastest and most consistent racers, while amplifying the legacy of one of the disciplines most legendary riders. In addition, it’s to celebrate the road to Whistler on the Crankworx World Tour. With the Whistler Mountain Bike Park track created in Smith’s honour as the final race of the season, some years the Quest for 1199 will come down to the Whistler track. In those cases, the quest is both a push to go beyond 1199 points, and a push to master the 1199 track.
T-minus four weeks 'til it all kicks off in Rotorua.
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But yes it's good to have more coverage of course
Herein known as Rob'd
And while Discovery doesn't run the Tour de France the seem to do a good job on the broadcast production
www.mediaplaynews.com/warner-bros-discovery-2022-tour-de-france-bike-race-set-record-streaming-broadcast-records-across-50-european-markets
I also like that I can navigate their website and find what I wish to watch easily. RBTV on the other hand...
Sorry but facts and the details behind them actually matter.
I'm just pointing out how the "competing series" that's supposedly (as you claim) going to stick it to the UCI, is indeed intertwined with UCI.
Knuckles arent white. Its not hard or stressfull to write facts.
You Still haven't enlightened me how the UCI is going to wnd up sucking it here. All ears for it... Lets hear it.
but the fact remains that my statement wasn't based on fact, rather hopeful, opinionated forecasting of how the new race series will influence the pinnacle of downhill mtb racing. I feel like you may have missed the part where I predicted that although the UCI does indeed govern the new series, I'm hoping they'll eventually part ways for the riders' sake; see Eddie's 2020 interview ("UCI is suffocating downhill mtb") and Loic & Finn feeling the need to create a riders union to balance the UCI's power as a couple quick examples of where I'm coming up with the idea.
110.000CAD / 4 (stops) = 27.500CAD/stop
27.500CAD / 2 (m/f) = 13.750CAD/stop/category
13.750CAD = 9.575€
The UCI pays out 10.100€/stop/category.
So in the end the UCI pays more. Even though it’s still not enough.
Because if 130k CAD is up for grabs in total, it would be pretty much the same as the UCI is paying (total of 10100 € for places 1 to 10)
Math is hard.
much easier to just blather on nonsensically like @ChanceFuller "Finally downhill is getting some real prize money. And Rob Warner commentating??? It must be Christmas!"
But we knew that, yeah??? (the lying bit)
While it does sound like Ball says, "Unfortunately, you're right, it he had a contract, didn't work out."
He actually says, "Unfortunately, you're right, it yea the contract didn't work out."
Personally given the news here today I'll just be watching crankworx instead anyway but I do very much enjoy all the Vlogs ect and would like to still watch them and I would be sad to see them f*cked up.
If this goes well, I hope they have plans to expand.. hard. After this season, I could see other DH tracks/locations skipping the UCI and joining Crankworx. I'd love to see in maybe 5 years time a 10 stop Crankworx world tour and zero UCI DH races.
Now we just have to figure out how to get Enduro back...
I've been fortunate enough to attend Crankworx events in Rotorua and Whistler, and they are such a good festivals to experience! The UCI DH I attended at Fort William was great (because of the fans, not the weather) but it's not got the same vibe, possibly because it's just the DH at that event. If Crankworx is successful with this and can crank it up for all the events and festival vibes to be hosted at more locations, then there's no reason that it can't become the leading DH event series too...especially if the prizemoney can continue to grow and be a true, respectful award for the risks the riders put themselves through.
I'm all for it!
UCI and Discovery no good.
@Muscovir: They aren't really greedy and corrupt at all by today's the corporate standards, it's a frickin bike racing organization that doesn't even make alot of money.
4 stops only this year, so a series set to grow in the future should year one be a success.
The total prize money at 130000 CAD sounds like a nice round number but I would like to know the breakdown for it.
The 1199 prize is interesting but the king and queens of crankworks 2022 only got 787 and 926 respectively, so hum... Is reaching 1199 even doable over four events with a stacked field or will that money pot get bigger and bigger endlessly as no rider can pull off the perfect season to get it!?
I still see crankworks as a series for privateers but it is sure to gain interest from some factory teams and there will certainly be an incentive for Redbull riders to take part into the events, while for non factory teams it could be a good way to sell a 10 race program to sponsors.
The future sure looks interesting.
Thanks for clarification.
Rotorua
Match 18-26
Cairns
May 17-21
Innsbruck
June 21-25
Whistler
July 21-30
Don’t watch any UCI DH and watch all the Crankworx and we will get the change we want.
Sadly this won’t happen. People will just complain, keep watching and UCI will win.
See you in Creekside this summer.
Also f*ck the UCI.
Why the hell didn't Redbull try and implement this stuff BEFORE having their broadcast rights removed? They've had plenty opportunity to do just what them and Crankworx are putting on the table.
Now suddenly they want to make Downhill better because there is some competition.
From what Ive read the sport has suffered from lack of structure in certain areas, UCI and ESO want to improve things and everyone is losing their shit because of some change and Redbull can do no wrong.
This added series will only cause dilution to attendance at World cup events and its not going to help the smaller teams who probably cant afford to send riders to World cups and Crankworx. The folk who benefit most are the ones at the top of the DH tree already.
This isnt great news.....in my opinion.
• Crankworx DH action on Red Bull TV at all four stops (in addition to Crankworx’s other core disciplines).
• Elevated coverage of all Crankworx DH races, with more cameras to capture more of the action for fans following along from home.