The BC Bike Race or BCBR the "Ultimate Singletrack Experience" was founded in 2007 by Dean Payne and Andreas Hestler. It is an annual event that celebrates the culture of mountain biking in British Columbia, and around the world. Bringing together often as much as 36 different countries and the passionate appreciation of hand-crafted trails, built for riding pleasure. The BC Bike Race is a seven-day mountain bike stage race held in British Columbia, Canada, traditionally held in early July. Typically six hundred racers ride an average of 2.5hrs per day, for 30 - 50 kilometres on single track race routes that are 75-90% singletrack, with some gravel and road sections.
Each year, the BC Bike Race route changes, but it always includes the new and growing inventory of amazing British Columbia Singletrack.
From the beginning the route has involved Vancouver Island, with communities such as: Cumberland, Campbell River, the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo, the Sunshine Coast, and the Sea to Sky Corridor, including North Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler.
In the beginning in 2007, the event was predominantly a gravel event with long point to points, that finished with some singletrack. As the years passed and the volume of trails increased, the BC Bike Race kept in step with the evolution of the bike industry and the riders choices. Within three years the "Ultimate Singletrack Experience" was born and the focus was on the highest quality singletrack available anywhere in the world, the BC advantage.
The route for 2019 will once again include a prologue in North Vancouver. Racers then will experience Cowichan Valley, Cumberland (for two stages), Powell River, Sechelt (for two stages), and the final stage in Squamish.
The 2021-22 editions were held in the fall and in the Okanagan, in the Interior of British Columbia. The response to the pandemic forced creative scheduling and large scale movement. It was a true pleasure to ride the amazing communities of Penticton, Naramata, Kelowna, Apex, Salmon Arm, Cold Stream and Silver Star. Eventually in 2023 the BCBR moved back to the Coast.
The 2026 Edition, and 20th Celebration of the BC Bike Race will take place entirely on Vancouver Island, as with the 23, 24, and 25th - the route will reverse format and start North in the partner town of Cumberland, take in Campbell River, Nanaimo and head south finish in the scenic Cowichan Valley.
Categories
Michael Brown and Veronica Jarlehag winners of the mixed open team of two at the BC bike race 2011
In 2007 and 2008, racers had to compete as part of a team. Now, BC Bike Race offers a Solo option; Solo categories are Open Men, Men 40+, Men 50+ Open Women, Women 40+, and Women 50+. Teams of two categories include: Open Men, Open Women, Open Mixed, Veterans 80+ (combined age of both riders is over eighty), and Veterans 100+ (combined age over one hundred).
Guest racers
The race has been known to extend invitations to certain riders to compete as a celebrity guest on certain stages. Past guests include Trevor Linden (Ex-Captain of the Vancouver Canucks). Some other athletes have stayed and completed the BC Bike Race in its entirety: Brian Lopes, Mark Weir, Jesse Melamed, Wade Simmons, and Georgia Gould, all hard core mountain bikers that have also rubbed shoulders through the amazing singletrack with other notables like Tour de France veteran Udo Bolts, and Olympic Snowboarder Alex Deibold. Each year brings many new faces and exciting new tracks. 2026 will be the 20th anniversary.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
