WHISTLER, British Columbia (BRAIN)—Despite a few nasty weather days at this year’s Crankworx, the numbers came in ahead of last year.
According to Whistler-Blackcomb vice president of business development Rob McSkimming, Whistler’s mountain bike park saw an increase in bike park visitors on the last weekend of Crankworx (Friday through Sunday) over last year. McSkimming also said exhibitor numbers were “at or above” last year’s number, which was 70.
CamelBak was one of those exhibitors.
“The overall vibe was pretty killer this year, and less touristy,” said Seth Beiden, marketing and public relations coordinator for CamelBak. “Last year I saw a lot more random international tourists wondering what those kids were doing on bikes. This year it definitely seemed more core as far as spectators and attendees.”
Some new events at this year’s Crankworx garnered attention like the Block Party the first Saturday night where a mountain bike movie played on the massive JumboTron outside. Also, Crankworx, with the help of local bars, brought live music inside this year in a coordinated effort to help guests stay entertained at night.
“It was busier than I remembered last year being, at least early in the week,” Beiden said. “But that was probably due to the weather. It was sunny and gorgeous after a few hard days of cold and rain. Then Wednesday and Thursday were pretty crappy weather. The weather tended to be what determined the showing of spectators and riders. On the rainy days the crowds were weak, and on the sunny days they were epic.”
Fox Racing’s Greg Lenac felt like there were less people overall at this year’s Crankworx.
“Overall it seemed to me that there were less people, less vendors, less parties and the Slopestyle [competition] wasn’t as good,” Lenac said. “It seems everything was scaled back a bit. But I did have more seat time riding this year so I can’t complain there.”
—Jason Norman
