The Test of Metal is a 67-kilometre cross-country mountain bike race that was held annually in and around Squamish, British Columbia until the final race in 2016. The demanding course, with over 1,200 metres of climbing and 35 kilometres of singletrack, takes just under three hours for the fastest riders and between four and five hours for the majority of competitors. The number of entries allowed is limited (in 2006 to 800). The race is part of the Test of Metal Mountain Bike Festival, a weekend of mountain biking, trials, and related events.
| Year | Top Male | Top Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Carter Hovey | Sally Carmichael |
| 1996 | Michael Pruner | Erin McGann |
| 1997 | Geoff Kabush | Linda Robichaud |
| 1998 | Chad Miles | Kiara Bisaro |
| 1999 | Chad Miles | Kiara Bisaro |
| 2000 | Ruedi Shnyder | Sandra Walter |
| 2001 | Carter Hovey | Eron Chorney |
| 2002 | Andrew Kyle | Lesley Tomlinson |
| 2003 | Carter Hovey | Sarah Noble |
| 2004 | Ricky Federau | Alison Sydor |
| 2005 | Neal Kindree | Meghan Kindree |
| 2006 | Neal Kindree | Catharine Pendrel |
| 2007 | Neal Kindree | Catharine Pendrel |
| 2008 | Max Plaxton | Wendy Simms |
| 2009 | Max Plaxton |
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Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20 km northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At 1,909 m (6,263 ft), it is the highest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Beast of Provence", the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald Mountain". It has gained fame through its inclusion in the Tour de France cycling race; in 2009 it was the scene of the first penultimate-day mountain top finish in the Tour de France, with Alberto Contador sealing his yellow jersey.
Whistler is a resort municipality in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the unceded territories of Squamish, British Columbia. Approximately 125 km (78 mi) north of Vancouver and 36 km (22 mi) south of Pemberton, it is incorporated as the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). It has a permanent population of approximately 13,982 (2021), as well as a larger but rotating population of seasonal workers.
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway. The population of the Squamish census agglomeration, which includes First Nation reserves of the Squamish Nation although they are not governed by the municipality, is 19,893.
Graeme Obree, nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish racing cyclist who twice broke the world hour record, in July 1993 and April 1994, and was the individual pursuit world champion in 1993 and 1995. He was known for his unusual riding positions and for the Old Faithful bicycle he built which included parts from a washing machine. He joined a professional team in France but was fired before his first race. He also competed in the men's individual pursuit at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The Squamish River is a short but very large river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is 3,328 square kilometres (1,285 sq mi) in size. The total length of the Squamish River is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi).
Marathon mountain bike races, often referred to as cross-country marathon (XCM), are a very demanding form of mountain bike racing covering at least 40 kilometres usually in mountainous terrain. Events held in Europe are typically just a little longer than the average cross country mountain bike race. Marathon events in the USA and Canada are typically longer than 100 kilometres and are very different from cross country races.
Matti Lehikoinen is Finland's leading downhill cyclist. His previous achievements include 2001 junior European championship from Italy's Livigno and top-ten placings in the downhill World Cup during 2002-2004. After having ridden a few years in Team Arai/Global Racing, he joined Team Honda G Cross in 2005.
The Lions are a pair of pointed peaks along the North Shore Mountains in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They can be seen from much of the Greater Vancouver area, as far as Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby, south to parts of Surrey, and from the west on the Howe Sound Islands and the Sunshine Coast. Along with the Lions Gate Bridge named in their honour, these twin summits have become one of the most recognizable Vancouver landmarks. The city's BC Lions CFL football team is also named in their honour. Lions Gate Entertainment which was founded in Vancouver in July, 1997 is also named for the peaks.
24 Hour mountain bike races are a form of endurance mountain bike racing where solo competitors or teams race for a period of 24 hours. The 24 Hours of Canaan was one of the first sanctioned 24 hour mountain bike events. At the 24 Hours of Indiglo 17-year-old Ed Hunt became the first solo competitor at a 24-hour mountain bike event.
The BC Bike Race is a seven-day mountain bike stage race held in British Columbia, Canada, traditionally held in early July. Six hundred racers ride an average of 50 kilometres a day on race routes that are 75% singletrack.
Dolan Bikes is a British bicycle manufacturer founded by Terry Dolan. They mainly produce racing bicycles that are used by teams such as An Post-Sean Kelly. Dolan bikes also owns the brands Alpina, Cougar and ADV.
Hardwood Ski and Bike is located in Oro-Medonte Township in Ontario’s Lake Country region about one hour north of Toronto, Ontario. The facility is a family oriented cross country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and outdoor recreation area.
Mountain biking in Australia is a mix of dedicated mountain bike parks, ski resorts with mountain bike facilities, and other parks that have become popular with mountain bikers despite lacking dedicated facilities. The peak body for the sport is Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA).
Jonkheer Sebastiaan Bowier is a Dutch cyclist.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race or ride longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km), is sometimes considered to be ultra-distance cycling. However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category is more useful, such as any race or ride that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km).
Kathleen "Kathy" Lynch is a retired competitive cyclist from New Zealand who competed both on and off the road. With a talent for multiple sports disciplines, she won the canoeing events New Zealand White Water Downriver and Slalom Championships in 1987 and represented her country at the 1988 Canoe Slalom World Cup. Around the same time, she was also a successful triathlete, but did not continue with that sport. She bought her first mountain bike in 1988 at the age of 31 in order to compete in an adventure sport event, and within a year she had become the New Zealand national cross country champion. Around the same time, she also took up road cycling. She was included in the New Zealand team for the 1990 Commonwealth Games and was assigned as domestique for the top New Zealand road rider, Madonna Harris. Harris and Lynch finished in fourth and ninth places respectively. In September 1990, Lynch competed at the inaugural UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and finished tenth. In November 1990, she became a household name in New Zealand by winning a 22-day multi-sport race the length of the country that had prime time TV coverage every night.
Jason Loutitt (1964-2021) was a Canadian marathon and long-distance mountain runner and cyclist from Squamish, British Columbia. Loutitt was the recipient of the Tom Longboat Award in 2001.
The Strathpuffer is an annual amateur 24-hour winter Mountain bike race in the Scottish Highlands. The race is held in late January near Strathpeffer with around 17 hours of the race taking place in darkness. It was first held in 2006 and attracted more than 1,000 competitors in 2018.
Mikayla Martin was a Canadian alpine skiing and ski cross athlete. Martin competed for the alpine ski team of British Columbia from 2014 to 2017 before joining the Canadian ski cross team for Alpine Canada in 2017. In ski-cross, Martin raced in six events of the 2018–19 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup and had two top nine finishes. In championship events, Martin won gold at the 2018 FIS Freestyle Junior World Ski Championships and did not start the small final at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2019.
The 2021 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event held in Saudi Arabia and the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally. The event was held for 14 days, starting from 3 January and ended 15 January 2021. It was the second time Saudi Arabia had hosted the event, with support from the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation. The race started and ended in Jeddah, allowing the competitors to venture through the desert and alongside the Red Sea. The route consists of one prologue stage and 12 normal stages, with one rest day in Ha'il on 9 January. The rally was originally intended to run through 2–3 additional countries, with Egypt and Jordan being rumoured likely candidates. However, due to travel and border restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the route stayed entirely within Saudi Arabian territory.