With the Test of Metal just a few weeks behind them, the Squamish mountain bike community, led by the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association or SORCA, is putting the final touches on their annual Gearjammer race.
The July 24 Gearjammer race is a lot of different things to different people.
For the riders taking part in the first B.C. Cross-Country Marathon Series, it’s the last event on the competitive calendar. Whistler’s own Lesley Clements is in the running for the inaugural women’s title.
For others, the Gearjammer represents the first ever B.C. Provincial Championships, a title usually reserved for the last race on the B.C. Cup calendar.
The Gearjammer is a also a companion event to Whistler’s Crankworx Gravity Series, which will host the first provincial downhill and four-cross championships as well as several unique freeride competitions.
The 40 km Gearjammer course is not only long, it also features a challenging variety of singletrack trails that will put riders to the test.
"It’s about bragging rights," said Gary Jackson, the mountain bike technical director for Cycling B.C. "Who are truly the fastest cross-country riders in the province? I guess we’ll find out."
The event has elite categories for men and women, but also offers a wide range of categories for citizen, sport and expert level riders.
The Test of Metal is helping to produce the event, with the goal of making it bigger every year.
"The Test of Metal is so successful, and the Gearjammer complements it nicely," said Cliff Miller, Test of Metal race director. "We’re hoping that the enthusiasm that surrounds the Test will spread to this race."
The race gets underway at Alice Lake Provincial Park with a 12.5 km climb of over 500 metres before dropping into a network of almost 30 km of technical singletrack.
In addition to being the provincial and marathon cross-country championships the Gearjammer is also a fundraiser for the Squamish Emergency Program and SORCA.
For more information on the Gearjammer, or to register, visit www.gearjammer.com.
