Several local riders are eager to show off their backyard trails to nearly 500 mountain bike racers competing in the BC Bike Race starting Saturday (June 26).
"We're flying the 麻豆社国产flag. We're going to tell everyone how great this town is and promote it," said Kelly Servinski who is one of the several local riders representing 麻豆社国产in the seven-day, point-to-point race.
"We just want to get the word out - this is a mountain bike mecca in the making."
麻豆社国产will be the location of the sixth stage of the race, which starts in North Vancouver on Saturday (June 26) and wraps up in Whistler on Saturday July 3.
Avid riders from as far away as Egypt, Japan and South Africa will test themselves by cycling through 60- kilometers of 麻豆社国产area trails starting and ending at Brennan Park on Friday July 2.
"These are super fans of mountain biking and knowing that BC is the hot spot to ride, so here they come," said BC Bike Race marketing director and Olympian Andreas Hestler.
"We're just exposing them to Squamish, the amazing beautiful recreation capital of the world."
In total, cyclists will cover about 400 kilometres and endure an altitude change of 7,000 metres over the weeklong race. Riders can compete individually or as a part of a team consisting of as many as five people and cover 60 kilometres a day in the epic category or 30 kilometres a day in the challenge category.
Hestler said the challenge category was created because the 400 kilometre epic course might be a bit too much for some cyclists.
Servinski vouched for how tough the BC Bike Race epic course is.
"It's basically like doing seven of these Test of Metals in a row. It will elevate your riding like no other sort of training you can do. Dwayne [Kress] and I did have done a number of them, it just really puts you through the ringer for a week."
A few of the participants scheduled to compete in the fourth annual BC Bike race include two time Test of Metal winner, Olympian and World Cup winner Geoff Kabush, Olympian, World Cup winner and Test of Metal winner Catherine Pendrel, three-time World Champion Melanie McQuaid, and Costa Rican La Ruta de los Conquistadores winner Manuel Prado and locals like Servinski, Kress and Brandi Heisterman, just to name a few.
Kress said he wanted to participate in this year's Bike Race with Servinski so the duo could fundraise for Team Diabetes.
"As we started to talk a bit more about doing it, we started finding out there was more people in our lives who have diabetes or knew somebody who did," Kress said.
"We're familiar with these towns and the area so we kind of needed an extra little challenge to spur us on, and [fundraising] definitely did."
To date, the duo has raised nearly $11,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association. Anyone interested in donating to Kress, Servinski or other local athletes training and fundraising for Team Diabetes can do so online at www.diabetes.ca.
Servinski said he'd love to have residents come out and cheer him and the other local riders on during the 麻豆社国产leg of the race.
"We'd love for people to come out on the sixth day and even give us a little bit of a boost and say 'hey Dwayne, hey Kelly how are you doing?' Just to have that would just be awesome because we're going to be tired."
Spectators are also invited to stop by Brennan Park on Friday July 2 and enjoy the atmosphere and energy, which Hestler says will be palpable.
"You're one day away from your own personal Tour de France finish and you just pump. These people are so excited they're just babbling with excitement."
Spectators can enjoy a Red Truck Beer garden, while kids can participate in their very own mini-BC Bike Race on Friday July 2.
"We want to make sure the whole family can come out to enjoy watching the race and enjoy the energy."
For a toonie, kids between the ages of three and 12 can race and compete to win a Rocky Mountain Bicycle Edge 20. Hestler said every youngster in the Shimano Kids Fun Bike Race would receive a medal for their efforts. Registration starts at 1 p.m. but the race is at 2 p.m.
Spectators interested in watching riders zip through the BC Bike Race course can do so at the Powerhouse Plunge, at Hoods in the Woods, or at Psudo-tsuga.
The 麻豆社国产leg should take anywhere from three and a half hours to seven hours to complete.
For more information on the BC Bike Race visit www.bcbikerace.com/.
