Bike
Bike
Learn what it takes to be the King and Queen of Crankworx
The race to become the best all-round male and female MTB athlete at Crankworx World Tour is fierce. Get the inside track right here about how it all works.
The King and Queen of Crankworx overall riding competition has steadily grown in importance over the years, since Crankworx expanded to other locations out of its Whistler heartland on its Crankworx World Tour.
The competition is the ultimate test of a rider's skill and it rewards the athletes who have the ability to adapt and impress at a whole range of different mountain bike riding styles.
It's a big deal to win these titles – on par with the sort of recognition you get for winning one of the slopestyle contests at Crankworx. There's also the small matter of the financial rewards for winning a King or Queen of Crankworx – a cool $20,000 Canadian dollars.
01
So what's it all about?
Essentially the King and Queen of Crankworx is a multidisciplinary challenge that awards points across events and disciplines over the three Crankworx festivals that take place. The male and female riders that accrue the most points across the three festivals win the overall titles of King and Queen of Crankworx.
Find out more about the Crankworx World Tour
Athletes who tend to fare well in the King and Queen competition are those who get consistent results. Winning an individual event is of course ideal, but finishing second, third or even eighth is not a disaster.
To be eligible for the title, the rules say an athlete must complete in at least two events across the three festivals. In reality an athlete has be riding in all, or nearly all, of the points-scoring events that are on during the three Crankworx festivals to be in with a chance of winning the title.
Tomáš Slavík knows how it feels to be the King of Crankworx
© Saskia Dugon/Red Bull Content Pool
02
Which events are point-scoring?
Crankworx: Dual Slalom – Whistler
Freeride, slopestyle, downhill and enduro riders battle it out in pairs in a race against the clock.
Not every event at at Crankworx is point-scoring. The following competitions per round are:
Crankworx Whistler: Clif Speed & Style, Canadian Air DH, Dual Slalom Whistler (watch it above), RockShox Ultimate Pumptrack Challenge, Red Bull Joyride (watch it below)
Crankworx Cairns: Slopestyle, Downhill, Dual Slalom, Speed & Style, Pump Track, Whip-Off.
Crankworx Rotorua: CLIF Speed & Style Rotorua, Rotorua Air DH, RockShox Rotorua Pump Track Challenge presented by Torpedo7, Maxxis Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza, Crankworx Rotorua Downhill presented by Gull, 100% Dual Slalom Rotorua.
Speed & Style blasts off in Innsbruck
© Fraser Britton/Crankworx
Crowds watch on as Loïc Bruni makes his way down the Rotorua DH course
© Miles Holden/Red Bull Content Pool
The Dual Slalom course from Innsbruck
© Saskia Dugon/Red Bull Content Pool
Pump Track in full swing under the lights in Rotorua
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
03
Points mean prizes
Crankworx: Red Bull Joyride – Whistler
Riders perform their best tricks and stunts on a bespoke obstacle course in this fan-favourite contest.
Points per competition events are awarded on a decreasing basis, with 100 being awarded for first place and one point for the last awarded place in a competition. How many points are awarded in relation to placings differ for each competition event, but the top five placings generally follow the format below:
- 1st – 100 points
- 2nd – 80 points
- 3rd – 60 points
- 4th – 50 points
- 5th – 45 points
04
Who were the KIng and Queen of Crankworx last time out
Ryan Gilchrist is the current King of Crankworx
© Wayne Reiche/Red Bull Content Pool
The most recent winners (2025) are Canadian Ryan Gilchrist, who's retained his title for a second year, while the USA's Jordy Scott is named Queen for the first time.
Gilchrist's margin of victory in the King race was substantial. He finishing on 1,053 points; well ahead of his nearest rival, Tegan Cruz of Canada, on 881. Last year's runner-up, fellow Aussie Jackson Frew, dropped to third on 826.
Scott improved on last year's runner-up spot to take the crown with 1,025 points. Again, the margin of victory was impressive. Sabina Košárková confirmed second after winning the last event of the series - The Pump Track in Whistler - to finish on 734, while two-time Queen Caroline Buchanan of Australia took third on 671.
05
Previous King and Queens
Your 2022 Queen and King of Crankworx – Buchanan and van Steenbergen
© Clint Trahan/Crankworx
The current King and Queen of Crankworx format was introduced in 2015. Prior to that, King and Queen titles were awarded at individual festivals.
YEAR
KING
QUEEN
2025
Ryan Gilchrist (CAN)
Jordy Scott (USA)
2024
Ryan Gilchrist (CAN)
Martha Gill (GBR)
2023
Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (NZL)
Caroline Buchanan (AUS)
2022
Bas van Steenbergen (CAN)
Caroline Buchanan (AUS)
2021
Bas van Steenbergen (CAN)
Vaea Verbeeck (CAN)
2019
Mitch Ropelato (USA)
Vaea Verbeeck (CAN)
2018
Sam Blenkinsop (NZL)
Jill Kintner (USA)
2017
Adrien Loren (FRA)
Jill Kintner (USA)
2016
Tomáš Slavík (SLO)
Jill Kintner (USA)
2015
Bernard Kerr (GBR)
Anneke Beerten (NED)
