The 28th season of the Mountain Bike Canada Cup cross-country series opens today at Bear Mountain Resort. The Canada Cup has been the career starting point for many of Canada's top professional and Olympic riders.
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 kilometer circuit opens with a sustained climb on pavement and single-track before a long rough and rooty descent.
Mathieu Boucher, Director of Performance Development at Cycling Canada, said, "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."
All three of Canada's Commonwealth Games athletes will race at Bear Mountain - national women's champion Emily Batty, Haley Smith and Leandre Bouchard. They will be joined by Olympic bronze medalist and defending champion Catharine Pendrel and national men's champion Peter Disera.