Looking back: aMTB’s arrival at the Dunbar Summer Series

When an adaptive downhill category was announced for last year’s Dunbar Summer Series, some riders weren’t sure what to expect. What exactly was aMTB DH? For many of us that had no experience seeing an adaptive bike in person, the first question was how riders could get down the notoriously difficult tracks? By the end of the first race those questions were answered and aMTB had a whole new roster of fans. Since then, aMTB’s quickly expanded with more races adding aMTB categories, downhill and otherwise.

As Dunbar Summer Series rolls through 2022, we’re looking back at the surprise hit of 2021. How it happened, what made it so successful and, most importantly, what the riders themselves thought of the experience.

aMTB comes to Dunbar: shattering expectations

From a sport that didn’t really exist a few years ago, aMTB burst onto the scene in dramatic fashion this summer at the Dunbar Summer Series. Despite being the first aMTB race series to be run as part of an existing series, it wasn’t exactly dipping toes in to test the waters. It was three Canada Cup-level downhill races in nine days, on some of the hardest terrain imaginable. The impact was immediate, for those between the tape and those watching from outside.

“Coming from a racing background, this changes everything,” says Cole Bernier. “Finally having a platform where we can push ourselves to our limit and be doing it against some of our best friends is truly a game changer.” Even for a rider that’s been on aMTBs for a while, integration into the Canada Cup scene came with some surprises. “Racing the aMTB Series changed my expectations more than anything. When we started to work on getting the adaptive class integrated into the Dunbar Series, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. After testing the courses, and finally getting to race them, my expectations were quickly blown out of the water. This sport is here to stay!”

RELATED: Get to know aMTB DH: Cole Bernier

For Ethan Krueger, another experienced aMTB athlete coming into last year’s events, having a series led to a shift in perspective.

“Competing in the Dunbar Summer Series changed the way I have viewed adaptive mountain biking as a rider,” Krueger recalls. “Before, adaptive mountain biking was pretty much just that.. nothing more, nothing less. There were the odd one-off events that…