When Nino shows up to race, the results have historically been pretty easy to predict. So, when the 10-time world champion showed up at the 20th BC Bike Race it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Swiss rider would blow the rest of the field out of the water. Two days in, that’s not yet the case. Two days of racing have resulted in sprint finishes between Peter Disera and Schurter.
On the women’s side, the racing is somehow even closer. Tuesday’s second stage, in the fast trails of Snowden Demo Forest, delivered a four-up sprint for the women’s stage win.
Sandra Walter clinches sprint win Snowden
Campbell River’s high-speed trails and narrow ribbons of singletrack make it easy to cover kilometres, but also make passing difficult. The front women found themselves in a group of three early on in Sunday’s 47.6km stage, with Ontario’s Hannah Simms leading Katerina Nash and Stage 1 winner, Ruth Holcomb. Sandra Walter, held up behind a crash that also slowed up Maghalie Rochette, would soon join that group.
“Then it was the four of us in a train all day, it was really nice. Hannah basically pulled us around all day, then I took the sprint at the end. The road racing from 10 years ago came back when I needed it!”
Simms, who now lives in B.C., was enjoying trails that felt a little more like home than the rest of Vancouver Island.
“I know there’s some punchy stuff that can catch you off guard, so I wanted to be on the front. This stage kind of reminds me of Ontario riding, which is home for me. I just wanted to sit on the front and be able to see what’s coming, see the lines.”
Walter wins the sprint for the stage. Simms takes home her first podium of the 2026 BCBR after finishing fourth on Day 1. Ruth Holcomb rounds out the podium and holds on to the leader’s jersey for another day.
Nino vs. Peter: redux
Sunday’s second stage started out looking like a faster version of Day 1: Carter Nieuwesteeg, Peter Disera and Nino Schurter broke away from the chasing pack to form a leading trio. When Nieuwesteeg crashed, it gave Disera a small advantage early on. With another 30km or so of racing, the Canadian thought better of trying…
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