Canmore prepares for mountain bike nationals

Sports

Posted By Shawn Slaght

Posted 2 months ago

By Shawn Slaght

Canmore Leader

Some of the best mountain bike racers in Canada will be converging at the Canmore Nordic Centre July 15 to 18 for the Canadian Mountain Bike Championships.

The festival of events begins on July 15 with the Clash For Cash — a prologue-style race that starts and finishes in downtown Canmore near the Civic Centre.

"It is opened to anybody that wants to sign up," said Scott Manktelow.

Friday will be the Share The Road ride in support of cyclist safety on the roads.

The trails of the Canmore Nordic Centre will be rocking on Saturday, July 17, with the women's elite race in the morning and the men's elite race in the afternoon. This year's course will include a few new trails such as the spectacular Eyedropper.

"It is mostly a new course with fairly short laps, which makes it more spectator-friendly," Manktelow said.

Expecting to compete in the women's elite race are Catharine Pendrel and Marie-Héléne Prémont. Pendrel currently holds the top spot in the World Cup rankings after a win in Offenburg, Germany, and Prémont is a silver medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

On the men's side, 10-time Canadian champion and 2009 World Cup winner Geoff Kabush will be no stranger to the trails of the Nordic Centre. He was won in Canmore numerous times on the Canada Cup circuit.

"It should be great and all the top racers in the country should be there," Manktelow said.

Other racers to watch for include last year's Canmore Canada Cup women's winner Mical Dyck and up-and-comer Cody Canning of Edmonton.

Back by popular demand, the Little Ziggy for riders between the ages of five and 12 will take place at noon on Saturday. This is open to all children whether they are members of a cycling club or not.

"We have a handful of kids riding and racing in Canmore and hopefully from around Alberta and beyond," Manktelow said. "It is fun to put them in there just before the elite racers too."

The course for the Little Ziggy will be similar to the course used previously for the Little Lung race.

Events wrap up on Sunday, July 14, with the remainder of the field taking to the course. The junior, masters and citizen's age groups will hit the game trail as the elite riders race for a chance at winning some great prizes.

Off the track, there will be even more excitement surrounding the race. Pro mountain biker Jay Hoots will be taking to the Nordic Centre bike park for a skills demonstration to show off some big jumps on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Kabush will give a talk to the junior riders entitled Race Clean — Own Your Victory starting at 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre classroom.

Throughout the weekend will be a whole expo with booths ranging from the top equipment suppliers in mountain biking to not-for-profit organizations.

Basically, 20 to 25 groups have come to me to be represented in the expo," said Nordic Centre events co-ordinator Magi Scallion. "We have everywhere from bike companies, clothing manufacturers, Oakley's for example, to not-for-profit organizations and local businesses.

"It is by far the biggest expo I've ever seen up here and I'm pretty excited about it."

A beer tent will be set up during the races and, in the evenings, there will be parties in downtown Canmore. Tickets for the parties are available at Bicycle Café and Rebound Cycle.

Volunteers are needed to get this event off of the ground. Those interested can send an email to volunteers@rundlemountaincycling.com.

shawn@canmoreleader.com

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