Mountain bike racers will zip down a 160-metre vertical course at Canyon Ski Resort for the chance to win the 2011 Alberta Bicycle Association’s provincial championships.
Known as Alberta’s most vertical non-mountain resort, Canyon will host the provincial championships on Aug. 27 and 28. This is the first time such an event will be held at Canyon and is expected to draw between 100 and 150 competitors. Age range of competitors runs from about 10 to 55.
They’ll be on the course practising on Saturday, Aug. 27, from about 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Practice runs continue on Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Racings kicks off at 12:30 p.m. on the Sunday, with awards to be handed out at about 3 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the extreme sporting event. Canyon is 10 minutes east of Red Deer.
Around the middle of the race course, the entrants will catapult into the air at about 50 km/h and then do a three-to-4.5-metre drop.
Organizer Deanne Coish said the event was held at Edmonton area Rabbit Hill, so when the bike park closed, she looked for a new venue.
The Canyon resort is steep, which is great for the racers, who will finish the course in two to three minutes.
“And you’re racing on a big downhill bike, so you’ve got about eight inches of travel on the front and the back,” Coish said from Sherwood Park. “There’s about 300 feet (90 metres) of track — some of them will pop out at 60 km/h.”
A total of $1,500 in cash will be awarded to the top racers.
The ski lodge will be open and food will be served for a fee.
Wreckless Bikes will offer onsite complimentary tuning for all competitors.
For registration fees and more information, go online at www.albertabicycle.ab.ca.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com