A shorter course with plenty of single track and a new finish line is set to make the seventh annual GearJammer cross-country mountain biking race unique.
"There's so much single track in this one," said race director Jo-Anne Sykes.
"A lot of the others have a large road component and the GearJammer course was set up so that there was as minimal road as possible."
The fourth of five races in the Hell of a Series will host up to 500 racers in 麻豆社国产on Saturday July 24.
The 47-kilometre course - which is about five kilometres shorter than last year's GearJammer route - starts at Alice Lake and winds its way through Rock n' Roll, the Mashiter, Skookum, Recycle and the Powerhouse Plunge trail before making its way onto Plateau Drive, a new component of the route for the 2010 race.
From Plateau Drive, the course whips up to Hospital Hill, the Bluff's climber's parking lot and finishes at Rose Park.
Finish line celebrations at Rose Park will include music, a barbecue lunch and an awards ceremony at 3:45 p.m.
"We're trying to get as many people out as we can, to cheer on the community," she said.
With only 150 participants registered for the point-to-point race so far and about three-weeks to go to race day, Sykes said she feels confidant the 2010 participant numbers will surpass last year's racer participation of 275.
"We're hoping to crack 300 and I think we will."
Sykes said Gear Jammer riders are notorious for signing up for the cross-country race the night before. In fact, Sykes expects more than 100 people to show up at the Nester's Market registration table on Friday night vying for a plate number for the Saturday morning race.
In an effort to divert vehicular traffic away from the Alice Lake, Sykes encourages participants to park their cars downtown near the finish line and take the GearJammer shuttle bus to the start line. Sykes is also in the midst of planning a Saturday morning registration near Rose Park to further prevent start line chaos the morning of the race.
"We're hoping to have Saturday morning registration near Rose Park because the Alice Lake entrance becomes so congested."
Sykes encourages racers to sign up online in advance of the race day.
"It would be nice if we could get more people to sign up online so we could know when we're trying to organize for the fruit and drink."
Registration is open to anyone 14 years old and up and riders do not require racing licenses from any organization.
Registration for the 2010 GearJammer costs $55 per person.
GearJammer celebrations officially kick off on Friday July 23 with the Flow downhill ride, where 120 racers rip down the newly constructed Half Nelson trail in one-minute intervals.
"Gear Jammer weekend promises to be another big mountain biking weekend in Squamish," Flow race director Dave Gillie stated in a press release.
"And Half Nelson is just the perfect trail to have this race. We'll see some amazing speed."
For more information on the Gear Jammer or Flow visit www.gearjammer.ca/
The last Hell of a Series race is Just Another Bike Race (JABR), which starts and finishes at Quest University in 麻豆社国产on Saturday Aug. 21.
The JABR course is shorter than the 67-kilometre Test of Metal route and a bit more difficult than the Gear Jammer ensuring the course has something for every type of racer.
Riders must start the JABR to qualify for points in the Hell of a Series standings.
JABR racer director and elite racer Dwayne Kress said JABR is currently looking for volunteers and sponsors. Anyone interested should contact Kress at [email protected] of visit the JABR website at testofmetal.com/pages/jabr.php.
Online registration for the 2010 JABR cross-country race started on Wednesday (June 30).
