Squamish鈥檚 August big bike race might be considered false advertising for 2014.
The fifth annual Just Another Bike Race (JABR) on Saturday (Aug. 16) will be the exact opposite of its namesake this year.
That鈥檚 because the Canadian Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships (XCM) will stage its final at Saturday鈥檚 event.
JABR and Cycling Canada officials made the announcement in June and it鈥檚 perfect timing locally with Crankworx in Whistler concurrently attracting some of the best bikers in the world.
JABR race director Dwayne Kress said the partnership with XCM should bring even more prestige to his race.
鈥淭his will expand on the success of mountain bike racing in 麻豆社国产and the West Coast mountain bike racing scene that already includes four 麻豆社国产cross-country mountain bike races, the fast-growing enduro series, Crankworx events with a Canada Cup cross-country race in Whistler and now a Canadian Championship Marathon race, all within the Sea to Sky Corridor.鈥澛�
Mathieu Boucher, Cycling Canada鈥檚 performance development co-ordinator said the level of competition should be top notch.
鈥淐ycling Canada is really excited to collaborate with Cycling B.C. and JABR for the hosting of the 2014 Elite Canadian Mountain Bike Marathon Championships in Western Canada,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淭he [XCM] annually attracts some of the country鈥檚 best mountain bikers challenging for the red and white jersey awarded to the Canadian champions.鈥�
The usual聽JABR聽course, at approximately 40 kilometers, will be slightly longer for non-elite racers this year, but only the elite racers in the marathon national championship race will complete an additional extension lap to settle their claim for the national championships and the coveted national championship jersey.
This year鈥檚 race features a different start and finish line, with all the festivities occurring at Hunter Park in Valleycliffe instead of Quest University as in previous years.聽
Last year鈥檚 race saw Squamish鈥檚 Neal Kindree and Coquitlam鈥檚 Sandra Walter both three-peat at the race.聽
JABR is the final race in the Test of Metal Events series, which also consists of
the Orecrusher, the Test of Metal
and Gearjammer. For more details visit www.testofmetal.com and follow the links.
