Justin and I just finished up a trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to race the 20th anniversary event for this mountain bike stage race. This is the last year of the 7-day format, and they are changing to a shorter 5-day event next year. The extensive network of trails on the central portion of the island is very impressive, and each stage was at a different start town or trailhead that were all within a 35-minute drive from our two campgrounds that we chose for the week.
Justin raced with the pros and was joined by Nino Schurter, who is now a brand ambassador for Scott/SRAM after 20 years on the World Cup MTB circuit with 10 World Championship titles and three Olympic medals. He is the GOAT!
The best way to get a view of what BC single track is all about is to watch this short video of Justin chasing Nino down the stage 3 descent over wet roots and rock slabs!
Justin writes:
After breaking a rim and a rear shock in preride the day before, I was determined to ride smoothly to keep my equipment working throughout a long week of racing. We swapped out spare parts the night before, and my new BMC Fourstroke was ready to race again!
The first stage started with a long gravel road climb, which was a good way to test my fitness against the other strong racers in the pro field. I stayed near the front and watched Nino to see what he would do, but soon realized that he was just waiting for someone else to go. I attacked when we hit the first steep pitch, and stayed on the gas to attempt to thin out the group. After a nearly all-out 20 minutes at 6 w/kg, there were only 4 other riders left, and Nino rolled up next to me and said “you set a good pace” before continuing to power over the top. I held on to the back of the group and went into the singletrack in fifth wheel. The long traverse on a fresh-cut trail before the descent was the hardest part of the day. I tried to pump, pedal, and push my way through the roots and rocks, but it was so dusty I could barely see the trail. I eventually got around one rider, but he had opened a gap to Nino and I couldn’t see him anymore. I was alone from there to the finish, and ended up finishing 4th just over a minute behind the 3-up sprint for the win.
The second stage started much easier, which was good because my friend and I got lost in the trails during warmup and missed the start by a minute, but managed to chase back on. I was a little out of position going into the singletrack, but made some tight passes on the first trail to get myself back up into the top ten. I found the wheel of Geoff Kabush, a former pro MTB racer and BC local known for his incredible technical skills. He opened a small gap on the climbs, but was able to fly back across on the descents. I followed him and Tobin Ortenblad for almost the entire day, trying to save my legs and work on my technical skills by following their lines. Eventually, we caught 4th place, and had a 4-up sprint on the road to the finish. I finished 6th but only a couple of minutes behind the leaders, and was happy to maintain my GC placing on a flat stage that didn’t suit me as well as the others.
In anticipation of the rain on stage three, I installed a 130mm Pike fork, knowing that I could hang on the climbs but would struggle to keep up with the Canadian racers on the wet technical descents. I made sure to warm up well despite the rain and went out hard to secure fourth wheel into the singletrack climb. When we hit the dirt road at the top, Nino had a small gap, but to my surprise, I was able to bridge across to him and left everyone else behind. Being off the front with Nino was a dream, and I tried my best to stay with him for the first two descents and the following climbs. Eventually, I got dropped on the most technical descent (video above) and unfortunately sliced my rear tire right near the bottom. It resealed, so I rode the next couple of descents at low pressure, which helped me stay upright through the slippery roots and bridges. Once I stopped to plug it, I got passed by 3 Canadian pros that were absolutely flying down the descent. I managed to get rolling again and salvaged 5th on the stage.
Stage four was my next best opportunity for a podium with a long steep climb in the middle. I positioned myself well in the early singletrack sections and was in the lead group going into the base of the climb. Nino decided to launch it right from the bottom, but I burned too many matches trying around the other riders and wasn’t able to follow him and Peter Disera. I settled into my own pace and up the climb, cresting the top just 30 seconds back from Nino and Peter and minutes ahead of the next racers. The top trail was quite technical with several rock rolls, and I did my best to ride the trail blind without having anyone to follow. I managed to ride the trail quite fast, but pinged my rear wheel a couple of times and started to lose air. I made it to neutral support station, and they pumped it up, but the slices opened up not long after, and I had to stop again to co2 and plug the tire multiple times. Eventually, I got rolling again and rode to the finish with 10psi in the tire, sprinting in for 5th place.
After two days plagued by flats, I put extra air in my tires for stage five. This was going to be the shortest and fastest stage, so I took some bicarb (baking soda) to help combat the lactic acid on day five. It must have worked, because I set an all-time 4-minute power of 450w up the first climb and led into the singletrack with Nino on my wheel! I tried to keep the pace high through the trails, but Carter passed me right before the first descent and attacked. I was sprinting out of a corner trying to chase him when I caught my ankle on a stump and went flying over the bars. Luckily, Nino and Peter didn’t run me over, and I took a moment to straighten my bars before continuing. After a couple of minutes of soft pedaling to make sure my ankle was alright, Tobin caught me and I was motivated to stay with him for the second half of the stage. After what felt like way longer than an hour of short climbs and descents, I led the final flow trail and we sprinted into the finish together.
I was feeling pretty rough by stage six, so my goal was to stick with the lead group for as much of the flat gravel sections as I could. Sometimes offense is the best defense, so I still sprinted for the singletrack and went in first just in front of Nino. I did my best to read the trails on sight, but the Canadian racers were on their home terrain and knew every line. After a couple of them passed me on a secret inside rock roll, I just had to follow their lines and try to keep up. To my surprise, a lead group of five riders stayed together, and Nino and Peter decided to take it easy on us. It was fun ripping the fast trails with a group of very talented riders. After two hours of racing, it came down to a five-up sprint, and I came across the line in 3rd just ahead of Nino.
Stage seven was the final edition of the week-long BC Bike Race, and my last opportunity to move up in the GC. It started with a long “neutral” start that was actually quite fast, but I managed to get into position before the first climb and follow Nino’s wheel. We were ripping up a singletrack section when I clipped my pedal on a stump again, and laid it out across the trail. I slammed hard on my left side, wasn’t too cut up, but my left leg was pretty bruised. I was ready for it to be over at that point but got pedaling slowly again, and limped my way around the rest of the stage. I was caught by Tobin and suffered up the climb with him, but got dropped on the descent and just rolled in to the finish. I ended up salvaging 5th on the stage and 5th in the GC overall!
The week had some highs and lows, which is to be expected for a seven-day mountain bike stage race! I was happy with my fitness on the climbs, but was humbled by the Canadians on the descents. It was super cool to get to race with Nino and the other pros, but I definitely have some work to do to be able to keep up on the most technical trails. Overall, it was a great experience racing on these amazing trails and I hope to come back next year!
Chris writes:
I started out with a rough day on stage 1 with a flat tire just 2 miles from the finish line where I lost 10 minutes to the leader. After an unsuccessful flat tire fix, I rode the rest of the race with 5 psi in the rear tire with the foam insert barely holding it on the rim in the rocky single track.
Stage 2 was the longest at 30 miles, but with a gravel road start and shorter climbs, it was not ideal for me, and I struggled to finish 4th on the stage. But I was able to keep air in the tires and start to adapt to the tight single track which is littered with roots, rocks, and tree stumps.
Stage 3 was the most challenging for me since overnight rain had made everything super slick, especially the rock slabs and dozens of wooden bridges! I only fell off one of the bridges with no permanent damage to the bridge or me, and was happy to finish in 3rd on the stage and 4th in overall GC out of the 187 50+ male racers.
The next two stages were good to me, with dry weather, plenty of climbing, and lengths of one and a half to two hours which allowed me to push hard. I was able to finish 2nd on stage 5 and move into 3rd place in the overall. Each evening there was an awards ceremony at the base camp which allowed people to relive the stage and connect with fellow racers. I ended up spending lots of time with a group of Cannondale engineers who were there testing future products!
Stage 6 was nearly my downfall since I had a day where trees seemed to move into the trail at the last minute so throw me off my bike, and the never-ending twisty single track conspired against me using my full available power. I was passed by too many riders to count, finishing 7th for the day and only retaining a 3-second gap over the next rider in the overall classification.
For the final day, I was committed to retain my 3rd place spot, and the course suited me with plenty of climbing that was not too technical and some flowing descents that kept the speed up. I had a good day to finish 2nd while keeping my 3rd place GC behind a couple of amazing riders from Washington and Australia.
