Next week, BC Bike Race turns 20. For seven days, 800 riders from 35 countries will celebrate two decades of racing sweet Canadian singletrack.
“Twenty years ago, BC Bike Race set out to build something different. Not just a race, but a journey. A week of the best singletrack in British Columbia, shared with the best community in the sport. This year, that journey comes full circle.”
20 years is a milestone for any event. For BCBR, it marks more than just an anniversary. 2026 will also be the final year in the original, seven-day format. that adds extra weight, and enthusiasm, to a race that already bills itself as “The Ultimate Singletrack Experience.”
The G.O.A.T. lands in Canada
To celebrate turning 20, BC Bike Race is welcoming none other than Nino Schurter. What better way to mark the final OG BCBR than with the undisputed, all-time best ever male cross country racer? The Swiss XC icon is expanding his horizons in his first year away from the World Cup circuit with gravel races and, now, his debut at the BC Bike Race.
Schurter, joined by fellow Swiss mountain bike legend (there are a few of those, but these two stand above the rest), World Cup champion and Scott-SRAM mastermind, Thomas Frischknecht.
The two Swiss will face a roster of international athletes and several Canadian stars. Geoff Kabush, Olympic veteran, World Cup winner, BCBR champion, all-around successful person on almost any kind of bike, returns to BCBR once again. Peter Disera, Olympian, multi-time national champion and recent BCBR champion will look to regain his crown. Cory Wallace, six-time WEMBO 24 Hour world champion, BCBR winner and Canadian XCM champion is also back on the start line.
Challenging them, and arriving on Vancouver Island with momentum from wins at Downieville Classic and Squamish’s new XCM classic the Haulback, is Carter Nieuwesteeg.
Antoine Duchesne, retired Canadian road racing legend and multi-time Grand Tour racer, including a climber’s jersey at Paris-Niece, is also taking on BCBR. With starts at Vuela a Espana, Giro d’Italia and the grandest of Grand Tours, the Tour de France, Duchesne, a.k.a. Tony the Tiger, will just be hitting his stride when the rest of the field starts to feel the cumulative fatigue.
Past champions…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…