BCBR Stage 6

Happy Fourth of July to our neighbors across the border! Stage 6 of the BC Bike Race presented by Shimano in Squamish was a day for fireworks as the trails exploded with riders. It was also Industry Day for friends of the BCBR. 86 riders from the cycling industry and friends of the race from across the province joined in the journey of the 600 racers on the course that is most often voted the riders favorite.

It's a day where the fastest riders love the opportunity to test each other's climbing or descending abilities while the rest of the pack enjoys the reward of dropping into some of the most well maintained and crafted trails in the world. Barry Wicks (Kona) took the opportunity to take a stage win while Lea Davison (Specialized) did the same but snagged the yellow jersey as a bonus.

The Squamish stage is a rider favorite every year with trails that combine some of the main elements that people come to BC in search of. It has technical features, fast chunky trails to test your rebound speed, flow trails for your pressure control, and both flat and berm'd corners to practice pointing your laser beam around. The riding is faster on a wider variety of surfaces than any of the previous stages. It's easier to keep flow and roll with the terrain, but it also means obstacles come up quicker and your braking reaction time is a little slower as the tires start to skid around a bit more. The new rock face roll-in parts of Rupert's were much less difficult than expected but the higher speed sections in Pseudo-Tsuga and Half Nelson became the challenge of the day as riders had to balance their enjoyment of speed with the reality of a fatigued mind and body.

Every year Squamish, the outdoor capital of British Columbia, becomes a hub for the BC Bike Race to facilitate a gathering of the regional cycling industry in a relaxed atmosphere with the people who use their products. With pros such as Seamus McGrath and Ryan Trebon to owners of the big and small cycling companies like Shimano and Endless Biking the day is about sharing a common passion on the trails or in the post-race beer garden. The race connects the regions' riders and the cycling industry through an event whose goal is to introduce people from around the world to some incredible trail riding.

It might seem odd to realize that there are people from North Vancouver, Cumberland, Squamish and many other towns in the province entered into the race. These riders are either motivated by racing or a desire to explore and the fact that locals will do the race is a testament to it's offerings. These residential riders often have such a rich trail network that they may not find it necessary to leave and explore other places. A 40 minute ferry ride becomes a barrier to visiting other regions when your backyard has the variety and volume that border most of these towns.