BC Bike Race Begins Sunday
Mountain bikers, from novice to Olympians, pay $2,250 to explore trails on Vancouver Island, Sunshine Coast and North Shore in seven-day trek
In cycling’s venerable B.C. Superweek, which will be slightly less super this year with no Tour de Gastown, the road racing through Delta and White Rock goes by such classic terms as prologue, criterium and hill climb.
But before some of North America’s best pavement scorchers take to the streets July 10-19, a whole other group of elite cyclists will be attacking some of B.C.’s most notoriously gnarly mountain bike trails.
They’ll be trying to stay upright on such handle-bar rattling tracks as Screamin Demon, Severed, Buggered Pig, Black Hole and Powerhouse Plunge.
It’s called simply B.C. Bike Race, a seven-day mountain bike stage race that starts Sunday on the North Shore and includes stages on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast before winding up in Whistler.
B.C. Bike Race is in just its third year, but has quickly become one of the most well-regarded mountain bike stage races in the world, rivalling the Cape Epic in South Africa and the Trans Alps in Europe.
Close to 400 riders, from pros to recreational enthusiasts, have ponied up the $2,250 entry fee, which covers meals created by local caterers in each community, base camp tenting, B.C. Ferries transfers, secure bike storage, daily awards and more.
