September 6/07 12:00 pm - Test of Metal Announces the "Squamish Triple Challenge"

Posted by Editoress on 09/6/07
 

Test of Metal announces the “Squamish Triple Challenge”
Courtesy Paul Demers

Test of Metal Inc. is pleased to announce the creation of a new Squamish-based race series for the 2008 mountain bike season. The Squamish Triple Challenge will consist of the Ore Crusher, the Test of Metal and the Gearjammer.

Test of Metal president Cliff Miller said that the opportunity to create this series came with the demise of the Rat Race on the Sunshine Coast.

“The 'Hell of a Series' races were important to lots of riders,” Miller said, “and when the Rat Race folded, there was some pressure for us in Squamish to fill the void.”

All 3 races will have the same age categories, and points will be awarded to winners in each category. Overall category winners will be crowned at the end of the Gearjammer.

The Ore Crusher will also feature special age cats for those racers under 19. Neither the Test of Metal nor the Gearjammer will have these categories.

The Ore Crusher is scheduled for May 10, 2008 on the trails in Brackendale. The race will be a 40 k.m. traditional cross-country multi-laps mountain bike format.

“This race is intended to be an early season warm up race for the serious racers who are trying to gauge their fitness level,” said Miller. “It is also for those who lack race experience and may be planning to do the Test of Metal and Gearjammer.”

The Test of Metal will be held on June 14th, 2008 on the same epic 67 k.m. course as in past years. Once again, it will again be limited to 800 racers.

Online registration for the Test of Metal will begin January 1, 2008. Details for the registration process are still being finalized and will be posted on www.testofmetal.com by early October.

The Gearjammer will be held on July 23, 2008. It too will be run on the same 46 k.m. course as in past years.

The Gearjammer covers some of Squamish's best single track, has a net vertical loss of about 600 meters, and yet race times are almost equivalent to those of the 21 k.m. longer Test of Metal.

Test of Metal Inc. is a privately held not for profit company. Since its inception in 1997, Test of Metal Inc. has donated in excess of $70,000.00 to various groups and associations in Squamish.