December 18/24 15:28 pm -

Posted by Editoress on 12/18/24
 

Cycling Canada has announced that two Canada Cup events - the Canmore Canada Cup XCO and SilverStar Canada Cup DH - will serve as stops in the recently announced UCI Continental Series for mountain bike.

The Continental Series will be held during standard UCI calendar events in the cross-country Olympic (XCO) and downhill (DH) disciplines. Each continent will host six XCO and six DH stops to comprise their respective series. For 2025, Canada will host one stop in each discipline, highlighting two longstanding events on the national calendar.

The Series creates valuable opportunities for high-level international competition, both domestically and in easily accessible neighbouring countries. It also offers an additional route to the UCI World Cup for riders not registered in a World Series Team: For each category, the top five from each event will gain 'Golden Ticket' entries to a World Cup of their choosing in 2025, plus the top five in the final overall standings will win entries to the following UCI World Cup season. Series standings will also be considered in World Cup wildcard allocations for UCI mountain bike teams.

First is the Canmore Canada Cup XCO, scheduled for June 11-14 in Canmore, AB, hosted by the Alberta Nationals Mountain Bike Race Association.

"Since 2017, when the Alberta Nationals Mountain Bike Race Association was formed and organized the Canadian XCO Mountain Bike Championships, we have been building to this moment," said Ron Sadesky, Event Director of the Canmore Canada Cup. "Canmore is ripe for taking on higher-level international events and a UCI Continental Series status is the perfect opportunity to showcase the foundation we've built over many years of high-level hosting. We are incredibly excited about how a series like this will add to the vibrancy of XCO racing in North America and about welcoming new athletes to Canmore."

The second UCI Continental Series stop will coincide with the SilverStar Canada Cup DH on August 2-3 in SilverStar Mountain, BC, organized by SilverStar Mountain Resort as part of the Crankworx Summer Series.

"We hosted our first downhill race, the Grundig World Cup, in 1994 and since then SilverStar Bike Park has dedicated itself to delivering gravity-fuelled fun to the biking community," said Ian Jenkins, Director of Sales, Marketing and Events at SilverStar Mountain Resort. "Being selected as the first stop of the UCI DH Continental Series 2025 is a testament to our commitment to the dirt for over 30 years, as we've shaped the bike park into one of North America's premiere biking destinations. We look forward to welcoming athletes and spectators to experience the excitement of SilverStar and see why people come back year after year long after the snow has gone!"