In the late 2010s, Tuesday nights at Blue Mountain Bike Park were the place to be for Ontario downhillers. Riders left work early. Lift lines filled with full-face helmets and a variety of bikes. By sunset, dozens of racers had dropped into one of Ontario’s most reliable midweek downhill races. Results were announced at Jozo’s.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Blue Mountain Tuesday Night Series became one of the most consistent race scenes in the province. The yearly Blue Cup events drew bigger fields.
From renegade trails to organized racing
Downhill riding at Blue Mountain was never part of a corporate business plan. It grew out of the region’s early freeride and downhill culture.
According to Blue Mountain Resort president and COO Dan Skelton, riders were already building and riding trails on the hill in the mid-1990s.
“We noticed the first poachers and renegade trail builders in the mid-’90s,” Skelton said. “Around that time Swatty organized the first Ontario downhill race.”
Soon the resort embraced the movement.
“It was shortly after that we had our ‘if you can’t beat ’em join ’em’ moment and we organized a trail building crew.”
Over time, Blue Mountain became Ontario’s most recognizable lift-access downhill venue. The gondola opened to riders in 2003. A passionate racing culture grew around the park.
Tuesday night racing had become part of the weekly routine.
The Tuesday night circuit
Every Tuesday during the summer months, riders raced the clock on Blue’s trails. Every week the race would go down a different trail. In 2017 and 2018 the season ended with a chainless race down Showcase.
The results from 2016 through 2019 show a wide range of categories and riders. Many of the names that appeared regularly would go on to race provincially or nationally. Others simply showed up every week for the friendly competition. And many can still be found riding (and racing) DH at Horseshoe Valley Bike Park.
The Blue Cup weekends
The 2018 and 2019 Blue Cup races served as headline events for the park. Riders form across Ontario came to test their speed. With full race-day energy, course preparation and deeper fields, they were often the closest thing the province had to a true bike park race weekend.
The end of lift-access downhill
The race results from 2019 now read like the closing chapters of an era.
In 2020 the lift never ran….
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