March 30/18 16:02 pm - Canada Cup Opens 28th Season at Bear Mountain

Posted by Editoress on 03/30/18
 

The 28th season of the Mountain Bike Canada Cup cross-country series opens on March 31st at Bear Mountain Resort, just outside Victoria, BC.  The Canada Cup has been the career starting point for many of Canada's top professional and Olympic riders.

Situated in the foothills of Mount Finlayson with breathtaking views of Victoria's seaside harbour, Bear Mountain Resort is the national training centre for Canada's mountain bike squad, and offers vistas of the Olympic Mountain Range, the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

In addition to the UCI sanctioned competitions for Elite and Junior men and women, the Bear Mountain Canada Cup will offer racing for age categories from kids to Masters.  The 5.97 kilometre circuit opens with a sustained climb on pavement and singletrack before a long rough and rooty descent.

2017  winner Catharine Pendrel

Emily Batty

Haley Smith

Leandre Bouchard

All three of Canada's Commonwealth Games athletes will race at Bear Mountain - national women's champion Emily Batty (Trek Factory), Haley Smith (Norco Factory) and Leandre Bouchard (KMC-Ekoi-SR Suntour).  They will be joined by Olympic bronze medalist (and defending Bear Mtn champion) Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro) and national men's champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory).

Peter Disera

Mathieu Boucher, Director of Performance Development at Cycling Canada, says, "We are thrilled to open the Canada Cup series for the third year in a row at Bear Mountain Resort, the Training Center for our national Mountain Bike Program. Riders will be treated to an amazing and challenging course with all the hospitality that Bear Mountain Resort has to offer. The event will showcase Canada's top riders as well top international pros who will begin their season with the opening round of the Canada Cup; it will be a week-end packed with action and fun for all the Mountain Bike Community!"