Kokanee Crankworx 2008 Hits Whistler August 9-17, 2008 (11-Mar-08)

WHISTLER, BC March 6, 2008 – Five years ago Kokanee Crankworx was created to showcase mountain biking's incredible progression to a worldwide audience

5th Annual Freeride Mountain Bike Festival Innovates With Three New Events

WHISTLER, BC March 6, 2008 – Five years ago Kokanee Crankworx was created to showcase mountain biking's incredible progression to a worldwide audience. True to its roots, Kokanee Crankworx 2008 will continue to push the envelope from August 9 -17, 2008 with groundbreaking new additions and refinements to the festival's core events.

"Kokanee Crankworx is fed by feedback from key industry influencers. Before the dust even settled on last year's event we began gathering information from athletes, media and suppliers," says Jeremy Roche, Kokanee Crankworx General Manager. "After boiling down literally hundreds of ideas and suggestions, we have focused on three areas to keep Kokanee Crankworx 2008 on the leading edge of summer sports events: capitalize on the comeback of Dual Slalom, reenergize Slopestyle and continue to develop the entertainment value of the Festival.

Kokanee Crankworx 2008 will kick off on Saturday, August 9 with a Dual Slalom, last year's highly regarded blast from the past. The energy continues to ramp with the ultimate test of downhill mountain biking skill and endurance - the Garbanzo Downhill on Sunday, August 10. Simultaneously, cross-country returns to Kokanee Crankworx with the Ken Quon "Ride On" Team Cross Country event.

The women take over on Monday and Tuesday with WomenzWorx offering two days of clinics, group rides and The Gala: a unique women-only freeride event inspired by pro riders Lisa Lefroy and Katrina Strand.

On August 13 the infamous Jim Beam Air Downhill returns to A-Line, the world's most ridden mountain bike trail. Coming off last year's record race, with over 300 racers some of the world's best downhillers competing with local favourites, this year's event promises to be another hit.

As part of the drive to re-energize slopestyle as one of the most progressive and entertaining competitions in all of action sports, an invitation-only Best Trick Contest will take place on Thursday August 14. This sneak peek to the main event on Saturday was patterned after a successful debut at last year's Crankworx Colorado.

On Friday, August 15 the world's first mountain biking Giant Slalom will take place. This new addition will feature a two-up, head to head format identical to its little brother the Dual Slalom. The course, to be designed by the pros at Gravity Logic, will start at the old Biker X start location, snake through the Boneyard and finish in the Village.

As always, the highlight of the event will be the Slopestyle @ Kokanee Crankworx on Saturday, August 16. Last year's free all-ages event drew crowds of 20,000 people. This year's event will be an invitation-only affair featuring the world's best "Slopestylists" competing for over $20,000 in cash. John Cowan and the Gravity Logic team have already been hard at work designing this year's course. A rider's Advisory Group has also been formed to provide feedback on the initial design and to provide ongoing input as the course is developed.

The closing event of Kokanee Crankworx 2008 will be the Canadian Open DH on Sunday, August 17. This year's course will be redesigned with details to be announced after the snow melts. Although last year's event featuring two world champions going down to the wire will be tough to beat, the 2008 Canadian Open will continue to build on its reputation as one of the world's premier downhill mountain biking events.

"There is no doubt this year's competition schedule will be the most exciting yet and will keep the Kokanee Crankworx at the forefront of mountain biking events world wide," says Roche.

Tune into www.crankworx.com for more details and updates on both Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler BC and Crankworx Colorado taking place July 31 – August 3, 2008.