July 10/09 12:43 pm - Mountain Bike Race Debut at Whistler Olympic Park

Posted by Editoress on 07/10/09
 

Team Whistler Cycling has partnered with Whistler Olympic Park to host the first Mountain Bike race at the site of the 2010 Nordic skiing events on Sunday, July 19th. Taking advantage of the newly constructed ski trails as a base for course design, the crew at the Park and a number of trained volunteers have added large sections of single track to make for a race course to be remembered.

There are three different events being held:
• BC Cup #4 for licensed riders
• A Citizens' Race (fun event for non-licensed riders)
• A kids' biathlon race (supported by ActNowBC)

After riding the course with staff from Cycling BC, Todd Allison, Race Director said that “the course would challenge all. Roadies will excel at the initial climb to the top of the ski jumps on the existing Olympic Cross Country ski trail but then the technical riders will hold the upper hand when they jump back into the tougher sections including the steep single track beside the Olympic Ski Jump”. This section has been provisionally named “K-110”, comparing it to the ski jump landing. The course offers a balance of fast climbs and places to pass on the ski trails combined with challenging single track and one fast ski trail downhill.

The course is a challenging eight kilometre laps of an Olympic Mountain Bike style course. While many riders prefer marathon style races to Olympic style, this course will not disappoint. The terrain is varied and will be challenging for all types of riders. Team Whistler rider Mike Boehm described the single track section riding down to Madelay Creek as “classic Whistler riding” - adding that it will be awesome.

These trails will form part of an important legacy for the Sea-to-Sky community and we expect that this race will become a feature of the BC Cup series in the coming years.

Further information can be found on www.teamwhistler.ca  and for the kids' race, go to www.actnowbc.ca/events. Registration is open at www.karelo.com.

Courtesy Nels Guloien