The Queen stage of the BC Bike Race landed early in 2026, throwing 33.8km of Cumberland’s more demanding singletrack at racers on Day 3. Mother Nature added to the test, dumping rain overnight and right up until the start time, turning roots and rock slabs treacherous after two days of dry, dusty racing.
Nino Schurter put the pressure on the men’s field early, but Peter Disera found a way to answer the legendary Swiss racer’s efforts. Ruth Holcomb continued her impressively consistent BC Bike Race debut, taking another win and adding to her lead in a close women’s race.
Schurter tests, Disera answers
After two days of sprint finishes, Nino Schurter started Monday’s racing looking like he wanted a less complicated stage finish. The 10-time world champion made sure he started the day’s main climb on the front and continued pushing all the way to the stage’s high point. At that point, only Justin Peck had held the Swiss racer’s wheel. A flat for the Californian left Nino alone on the front dropping into Race Rocks.
“I wanted to test them a bit and went first into the climb. I was a bit surprised that I got caught on the downhill,” Nino admitted with a laugh. “But it was a super cool course. Really difficult trails.I was surprised that it’s so technical. Big respect to all the other riders going down there, especially in those conditions.”
The only rider that could catch Nino was Peter Disera. After being distanced on the climb, he worked with fellow Canadian Carter Nieuwesteeg to try close the gap to the leading pair.
“I got out of Blueprint and couldn’t see them. I told Carter we just have to keep riding like they’re right around the corner or we’re screwed.”
Disera dropped Nieuwesteeg on the first descent. Passed Peck when he was slowed by the flat tire and, half way down a sequence of descents and short punchy climbs, had Schurter in his sights.
“When he caught up, I thought, OK, looks like we have a sprint again,” Schurter said after. “This time I tried from the front. The first time I didn’t know the finish and I was too late sprinting from the back. But he definitely knows the finish.”
With Schurter leading into the finish, Disera was able to time his sprint to perfection, taking a second stage win ahead of…
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