Mountain biking festival set to lure thousands and crown Cairns the adventure sports capital of Australia
The world-class mountain biking festival is set to bring thousands of visitors and millions of dollars to Cairns.
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Cairns is set to become “the adventure sports capital of Australia” as it hosts the world’s biggest mountain biking festival for the fourth time.
In May the city will hold its annual Crankworx Festival as well as the Union Cycliste Internationale Masters Mountain Bike World Championships in a back-to-back fortnight of world-class competitive biking.
Cairns is one of only three locations in the Crankworx World Tour, the world’s largest mountain biking festival. The other stops are in Rotorua in New Zealand and Whistler in Canada.
Crankworx Cairns 2025 will debut the full tilt event, a combative, BMX-style race on a newly designed course under construction at the Smithfield Mountain Bike Park behind James Cook University.
Young rider Kara Elepfandt is gearing up to compete in her first Crankworx under the mentorship of champion Cairns mountain biker Tracey Hannah.
“Because of the kind of riding we have in Cairns, it’s technical, it’s steep. You get so much from being here and being able to train in our terrain, it naturally brings up some great talent in our community,” Ms Hannah said
Ms Elepfandt said she was really excited about the upcoming competition and that “it’s been good to get the insights of a world champion”.
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said the festival provided a massive economic boost to Cairns and had injected $19.5 million into the region over the past four years.
“Last year (Crankworx) clocked up over $7 million,” Ms Eden said.
“We’ve got nearly two million global views and we’re putting Cairns on a world stage. That’s really important as we lead to the green and gold runway for the Olympics in 2032.
“It’s more than a launch pad, it’s a pipeline for young talent.
“Council’s aspiring to be the capital of female sports in the country and these events and this infrastructure happening right behind us is really important to make sure that continues to happen.”
In 2024 almost 8000 visitors attended Crankworx Cairns, with the number expected to rise for this year’s event.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said Crankworx chose Cairns for its “incredible” environment, international airport and strong tourism industry.
“Millions of people around the world are going to see this show,” Mr Olsen said.
“The most recent National Visitors Survey revealed that mountain bike tourism in Australia has nearly doubled since 2020.
“So that’s an extra $100 million a year that’s coming into our community because of the lift that Crankworx Cairns has provided.”
Mr Olsen said mountain biking events were already lifting occupancy levels in May, which is typically a quieter period for Cairns.
“Early sales are really strong, certainly above the last two years, and that’s great, but we’d encourage locals to get in and book their tickets.”
“We’ve also got Iron Man coming up, we’ve got the Reef 2 Reef mountain bike race, we’ve got so many of the major adventure sports events coming here.
“Cairns really is the adventure sports capital of Australia.”
Crankworx Cairns will be held from May 21 to 25 and include a swathe of mountain biking events including downhill, pump track, dual slalom and the Freeride Mountain Bike Association Slopestyle World Championship.
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