The Kokanee Crankworx will host the WomenzWorx competition for the third time on 10/11 August and is a showcase professional and amateur female riders in a fun and social event focused on technical descents, jumps and tricks.
An advisory board made up of world-class riders Kathy Pruitt, Katrina Strand and Lisa Lefroy, as well as Andrea Kraft of Sombrio, helped to develop WomenzWorx and ensure it was an inclusive event that would grow the sport of slopestyle and downhill mountain biking for women.
“We want to showcase the calibre of women's skills and progression at the world's premier mountain bike event. Having this opportunity to engage amateur and professional riders will without a doubt elevate the profile of women in bike," says Andrea Kraft from Sombrio.
"Currently there are only a handful of women specific mountain bike events, even on a global scale. WomenzWorx provides the showcase, $4,000 in cash and significant of prizing from our sponsors."
WomenzWorx consists of two open competitions and the showcase event, the Gala, is an invitational event held in the Boneyard, Whistler Mountain Bike Park's legendary slopestyle course. 60 riders in total can register for WomenzWorx in the professional and amateur categories; and one to five athletes from that field will be invited to compete with North America's top female riders in the Gala for a prize purse of $1000 cash.
The Gala's pre-qualified professional riders are Lorraine Blancher, Stephanie Nychka, Casey Brown, and Claire Buchar of Canada, and Kathy Pruitt of the United States. Based on performance in training on August 10, up to five more riders will be invited to compete with the pro riders in the Gala. All Gala participants will have a hand in determining the queen of the hill since the Gala is peer-judged.
"Gala participants will judge their peers. The hope here is to create a sense of community and camaraderie which seems to be essential in the long term success of women participating in mountain biking," says Kraft. "WomenzWorx is a fusion of slopestyle and downhill disciplines in a fun and supportive setting which we anticipate will encourage more ladies to participate our sport that we are all so passionate about."
More at www.crankworx.com
