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Crankworx Rotorua kicks off today, with 636 athletes from 30 countries in town for the mountain biking festival.
Organisers told the Rotorua Daily Post an estimated 300 support crew, staff, suppliers and contractors were also in town.
The festival, in its 11th year in Rotorua, has returned to its full five-day format at Skyline Rotorua, a statement said.
For the past two years, the RockShox Taniwha Downhill has been hosted in the Whakarewarewa and Titokarangi forests but the popular event returns to a refreshed downhill track at Skyline.
Rotorua kicks off the Crankworx World Tour, which will also visit Cairns and Whistler, Canada, where the event started 20 years ago.
New additions to this week’s events include Rotorua Roulette, a best-trick competition judged by the crowd; Skyline Double Down, an open-entry endurance race; and the debut of a revised Crankworx FMB Slopestyle World Championship qualification format.
Top local riders competing would include former downhill junior world champion Jenna Hastings, last year’s Taniwha Downhill winner Lachie Stevens-McNab and former Crankworx “king” Tuhoto-Ariki Pene.
Hastings and Pene claimed the elite women’s and men’s titles in the Mountain Bike Rotorua Downhill National Championships last month.
Last year’s Crankworx pumped an estimated $4.05 million into Rotorua’s economy through visitor spending, despite a boycott by some male riders.
Entry from Wednesday to Friday is free for Rotorua locals who register.
A festival pass is required for Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets are available through the Crankworx website.
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