Shawn Taylor, Leighton Poidevin and Brian Cooke believe there’s room for a signature old school mountain bike race in Canmore.
Locally run on original trails and bringing together classic cross-country racing and “Super D” downhill courses, the trio believe the Kananaskiker can be that race.
“We’re sitting here in the Bow Valley and what is the signature race? TransRockies ends here, but the rest of the race is elsewhere,” said Poidevin.
“We want to make the Kananaskiker Canmore’s race. We’re in the perfect venue. Why do people travel elsewhere? You look at the Test of Metal race in Squamish. The whole town comes out to support it. I think we can do that here, and I think our trails are a lot better.”
Canmore’s mountain bike schedule is crammed full of events: 24 hours of Adrenalin, Transrockies, Organ Grinder, Iron Maiden… the list goes on. However, the trio wants to offer something different – combine cross-country riding with downhill biking for a two-day festival on the Canada Day long weekend.
“Going into the early ’90s, people used to do both. We’re going to start this race where we used to start the downhill races and reach back to where it all started,” Poidevin said.
This will be the third year for the Kananaskiker and organizers have changed the format. This year, the event will include a 10-12 minute downhill run on the first day (June 30), followed by a 60 kilometre cross-country marathon on day two (July 1).
The downhill will be at the Canmore Nordic Centre on regular trails. It will include some short uphill and flat sections, but the majority will be on general trails for all abilities. The race will be an interval start. The marathon will begin downtown, work its way to the Nordic Centre through the Quarry Lake trails and onto the major cross-country trails.
“You can use any bike you want. You don’t need the same bike for both days,” Poidevin said. “We’re weighing points in the Super D the same as the marathon, so that equalizes the field.”
Moving the race to Canada Day should attract more riders, Poidevin said.
“We’re trying to capitalize on the Canada Day weekend. We’ll also have a kid’s race – we want to make it a family event.”
Organizers note the trails will be suitable for all levels and course maps will be on the website www.kananaskiker.com this week.
“It’s open to all riders, just like the Test of Metal in Squamish. That race gets 800 people of all levels doing 60 km. For some, it takes a while, but everyone wants to get through the process.”
People can start pre-riding the course next week, Poidevin said, which will be specifically beneficial for Super D course. The event is also a fundraiser for MitoCanada. Registrants can sign up for the event on zone4.ca
