December 23/09 22:30 pm - BC Bike Race Unveils The ‘Challenge’ Course

Posted by Editoress on 12/23/09
 

BC Bike Race - the Ultimate Singletrack Experience (June 27-July 3, 2010), has unveiled its new ‘Challenge’ course. The Challenge is a ‘lite’ version of the original event, a seven day mountain bike adventure from Vancouver to Whistler, which organizers now refer to as the 'Epic'. Challenge riders experience, on average, 30km each day of sweet BC singletrack, while Epic riders experience an average of 60km per day. The Challenge is the same seven days, visits the same towns, stays at the same base camps, enjoys all the same amenities, but covers half the distance as the Epic version.

With the addition of the Challenge, BC Bike Race is charting new ground in mountain bike stage racing. While half-distance events are wildly popular in the world of Ironmans and Marathons, mountain bike stage races have maintained a status quo; but no longer, as this major coup in the mountain biking world creates the opportunity for more people to enjoy the ‘Ultimate Singletrack Experience’.

BCBR Operations Manager, Tom Skinner, on the evolution of the Challenge:  “We wanted to open up BC Bike Race to as many people as possible, while maintaining the same experience that we’ve delivered over the last few years. After much discussion, we felt that a new short-course seven day event was the way to do this. While our Epic days are an average of 60km, we’re aiming for the Challenge days to average around 30km. They’ll still feature awesome singletrack, the same great base camps, and seven days of riding, but will hopefully open up BCBR to people who don’t feel like riding for as long a distance each day.”

The BC Bike Race is going into its fourth year and has celebrated unprecedented success over the last three. After quickly becoming one of North America's premier mountain bike stage races, the Challenge option was a natural progression.  "Everyone should be able to reach their goals and achieve something great every year," said Andreas Hestler, BCBR Marketing Director. "Epic or Challenge, 60k or 30k per day, BCBR is still 7 days of sweet mountain bike singletrack. We hope to see all of you, whether Epic or Challenge at the start line of the 2010 BC Bike Race."

Registration is currently open for both versions of the 2010 BC Bike Race event. There are different categories available for each version of the BCBR, though both share the core options: Solo and Teams of 2, 3 and 4. Check www.bcbikerace.com for more details.

Press release