Longtime locals might not quite believe it, but Crankworx Whistler is already due to commemorate its 20th instalment.
The festival sprouted from relatively humble beginnings in 2004 as a push to unite all gravity-assisted mountain bike disciplines and their practitioners beneath one umbrella. Existing items like the Air Downhill (DH) and Joyride Bikercross masterminded by Chris Winter and Paddy Kaye were on tap that year, as were the B.C. Downhill Championship, slopestyle and Garbanzo DH.
In 2025, the Air and Garbanzo DHs will be joined by two more high-velocity races: the Rockshox Canadian Open DH returns to 1199, a formidable track in Creekside, while the previous Canadian Open (abbreviated as the OG CDN OPN DH) shall be resurrected at its original venue on Aug. 9 as a separate event.
Claire Buchar, a longtime Team Canada rider from Whistler, was one of several people invited to walk the 1199 course during its seven-year construction. Builders wanted a range of opinions on whether it measured up against top-flight downhill tracks from around the globe.
"It is definitely a World Cup-calibre track," Buchar remarked about 1199. "It's got big jumps. It's super gnarly. There's a lot of thinking going on and strategy. Actually, I kind of think the 1199 track is more World Cup-calibre just because it's a lot more raw, whereas the old Canadian Open [trail] was quite bike-parkish ... but [the OG CDN OPN DH] is cool because it's located in the village."
At least two brand-new items are on the calendar as well: the Outdoor Research Trick Showdown and BOSCH eMTB Challenge, both scheduled for Aug. 15.
"The Outdoor Research Trick Showdown is Crankworx Whistler’s newest freestyle event, set to bring an NBA Slam Dunk Contest–style showdown to the legendary Whistler Boneyard," said Christopher Colpitts, senior manager of sport at Crankworx Events Inc. "This high-energy, head-to-head contest will feature eight invited men and four women, each throwing down their wildest and most creative tricks, but with one rule: no repeated tricks. Riders will be randomly matched up and go trick-for-trick in a knockout-style battle judged by guest athletes."
Meanwhile, BOSCH eMTB is a standalone racing series expanding into Canada for the first time, with existing stops in Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. Three divisions—amateur, advanced and pro—will be offered, with all athletes facing roughly 35 kilometres of trail and 1,000 metres of elevation gain.
"Adding the BOSCH eMTB Challenge to our Whistler program is a natural evolution for the festival," remarked Crankworx managing director Darren Kinnaird in a press release. "As the ebike space grows, so does the diversity of the riders and race formats we celebrate. This event is going to bring something completely new, challenging and exciting to the schedule for all levels of riders."
Lots of Sea to Sky denizens are expected to check out all of these events, but only one is in position to possibly win his first King of Crankworx award: Tegan Cruz.
'Just trying to check all the boxes'
Tegan was inevitably going to spend plenty of time on a mountain bike in life. His older brother Lucas is a World Cup athlete, his younger sibling Levi a recurring sight at Kidsworx, and they all grew up in Pemberton (a town boasting a high school with four straight provincial biking titles).
As a young boy, Tegan chased his big brother up through the ranks of youth BMX. Lucas transitioned into mountain biking first, and by his preteen years Tegan was following suit.
Perhaps not everybody expected the middle Cruz child to level up as quickly as he has. After a tumultuous inaugural World Cup season last year, Tegan raised eyebrows with a fourth-place Crankworx dual slalom result on home soil, at which point he voiced intent to contend for the overall tour title in future years.
Now Tegan sits second in the rankings with 641 points, a dual slalom victory from Cairns and a DH breakthrough from Silver Star to his name. He's proven capable of defeating elite opposition, too: upsetting incumbent King Ryan Gilchrist in Whistler last year and besting incumbent overall runner-up Jackson Frew in Cairns.
It's a big step up for a man who finished seventh overall last year.
"For me personally, it's a little bit different coming into Crankworx Whistler in my first season chasing after the King of Crankworx overall title. It's a very important week for me," Tegan said. "I've been to all the other stops this season and I'm absolutely loving my experience. I love what I do … and my training is really locked in this year.
"I definitely came into the season with a bit of a different mindset, different training program, all of the above. Shifting from a full downhill focus to multi-discipline, it's been a great season leading up to Crankworx. Just trying to check all the boxes as far as pump track, dual slalom, now that new event we had in Cairns—Full Tilt, and downhill. It's really trying to be able to compete with everyone in all disciplines."
Versatility is the goal, but at this level nothing comes easy, and Whistler often bears witness to late-season drama.
Kings and queens
Gilchrist ran away with the 2024 King accolade after a torrid outing in the Sea to Sky, during which he struck gold in Air DH and pump track to complement his Garbanzo DH silver medal. In fact, he was the only man to break 1,000 points with 1,144 that season.
Blessed with superb fitness due to his background as an enduro athlete, Gilchrist has no doubt cemented his reputation as one of the world's most well-rounded mountain bikers. He's also tough as nails, as evidenced by his battling through a turbulent crash in the 2023 Whistler dual slalom. With 878 points as of this writing, Gilchrist finds himself atop the ranks once more.
That leaves Frew in third (614). The Aussie's best weapon is pure speed: he's usually a podium threat in any downhill race and wields just enough of a trick bag to factor into Speed and Style. Last year he won Whistler's dual slalom and filled the runner-up hole among Air DH riders. Couple those assets with a tendency to swing for the fences, and it won't be easy for anyone to overtake Frew.
Also worth mentioning is Samuel Blenkinsop in fourth (485), who is arguably one of New Zealand's most decorated mountain bikers of all time. Sea to Sky folk may recall his Air DH victory from 2023.
Meanwhile, reigning Queen of Crankworx Martha Gill faces an uphill fight to reclaim her throne. The Brit is cooling her heels in fourth overall (470) and, despite a 1,152-point season last year, has yet to win a Crankworx event in 2025.
Instead, another familiar face tops the aggregate: Jordy Scott (722). An overall title slipped through the American's fingers last year because of her disastrous Whistler outing, with a lone silver in Speed and Style not enough to outweigh 13th in the Garbanzo DH, 16th in Air DH and 10th at dual slalom.
Fans should not look forward to another underwhelming performance from Scott this time around. Her well-rounded toolkit has delivered a pump track win in Silver Star and four runner-up outings to date: Christchurch pump track, dual slalom in Rotorua, Cairns and Silver Star.
Lurking in second (585) is the one and only Caroline Buchanan. A two-time Olympian, three-time BMX world champ, five-time mountain biking world titleholder and twice a former Queen of Crankworx, Buchanan is hungry to add to her already-stellar career. Expect her to partake in Air DH, pump track and dual slalom in addition to serving as a broadcast reporter for Red Bull Joyride and the RockShox Canadian Open DH.
Third among women, Sabina Košárková has taken the circuit by storm. This Crankworx newcomer from the Czech Republic boasts 560 points earned by way of four gold medals: pump track in Christchurch to go with Full Tilt, dual slalom and pump track in Cairns. Interestingly enough, Košárková's main goal is to qualify for the next Summer Olympics… as a BMX rider.
"I’d pick BMX any day—it’s my No. 1 goal because of the Olympic dream,” she revealed in an April 2025 interview with Škoda We Love Cycling. "Mountain biking is fun, but BMX is where my heart is."
Canada's top dog in the Queen race is Natasha Miller, who ascended to silver in the first Red Bull Joyride ever held for women. That happened last July, when she was just 17 years old. Currently in sixth overall (290), Miller probably won't challenge Scott and company at the top but did win this year's Christchurch Gold Cup slopestyle. Watch for the DFX alum to make more noise when Joyride returns on Aug. 16 to Whistler's Boneyard.
No matter who goes home with ultimate bragging rights, the 20th edition of Crankworx Whistler promises to be an unforgettable experience for athletes, fans, coaches, sponsors, industry experts and more.
"It's one of the first places I got to watch professional mountain bikers compete, and just seeing the festival grow through the years is amazing," said Tegan. "For example, I'm turning 20 so the festival started the same year I was born. [So is] being able to compete with some of my idols.
"Growing up watching Bas [van Steenbergen] win King of Crankworx a couple years in a row, and names like Mitch Ropelato winning it in the past, it's really cool to be able to ride and race alongside people I've looked up to for so long."
Visit crankworx.com/schedule/#whistler for a full schedule of events and keep up with Pique Newsmagazine for all the latest Crankworx coverage.
