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B.C. Bike Race announces route

Sports briefs: Outerbike returns for second spin
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Race Changes Katerina Nash and Tristan Uhl, the 2015 B.C. Bike Race winners, will have to tackle some new sections if they hope to repeat in 2016. File photo by Dan Falloon

Those in contention for the B.C. Bike Race crown will be seeing some new sites when they hit the seventh and final stage here in Whistler.

Organizers announced that racers will begin at the Olympic Athletes' Village in Cheakamus Crossing and will end in Rainbow Park.

In addition to the Stage 7 change, North Vancouver's Stage 5 also saw a major overhaul which resulted in it losing some distance, though the new route provides some added technicality. The stages in Squamish and Powell River were untouched, while the Cumberland, Earl's Cove-to-Sechelt and Sechelt-to-Langdale days were tweaked slightly.

The seven-day, 300-kilometre race lost roughly 16 kms of distance this year, though organizers noted on the race website they still expect overall finish times to be similar to past years.

Maps of all seven routes have been posted at www.trailforks.com.

The race will run from July 6 to 13.

Outerbike set to return

Outerbike is set for its second go in Whistler Village beginning Thursday, June 2.

The mountain bike demo event is welcoming a plethora of companies, which will haul their newest wares to Day Lot No. 2 for participants to try.

Full participants will have the chance to participate in seven separate tours in all, with morning tours running all days from June 2 to 5 beginning at 10 a.m. and afternoon tours on June 2 to 4 beginning at 1 p.m.

More details are available online at www.outerbike.com.

Storm advance to provincials

The Whistler Secondary School Storm girls' soccer team is pointed north.

The Storm knocked off the Pemberton Red Devils 2-1 in a shootout to win the Lower Mainland zone championship last week.

Gabby Smith scored the team's lone goal in regulation while also adding one in the shootout. Rena Nakajima and Hannah Peatfield also tallied penalty-kick goals while Caleigh Lamont stood tall in the WSS net to seal the win.

Provincials run from June 2 to 4.

Skate park opens to the public

The resort's skate community is ready to drop in after the latest addition to the Whistler Skate Park was completed and opened to the public last week.

The renovation incorporates "flowy lines and street-style elements" that put the focus on "long lines and multiple ledges for hitting, allowing skaters to pump and flow for speed," according to an RMOW release. The expansion brings the skate park to over 50,000 square feet in size, making it the second-largest skate park in Canada.

"Whistler's Skate Park has a reputation as being one of the best in British Columbia, and the rejuvenation brings the park in line with recent evolutions in the sport," said Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.

"The Whistler skate community and visiting skaters have been eagerly awaiting these features to continue progressing skating within the resort community."

Park upgrades have been underway since 2014 and came about following extensive consultation with the local skate community. The design and construction was undertaken by award-winning Spectrum Skateparks Ltd., a North Vancouver firm responsible for 160 projects across North America, Europe and Asia.

This is the third phase of construction at the park. Other work completed in the last week includes the replacing and expanding of asphalt around the park's snake bowl, and lifting the tree canopy to improve sightlines, safety and air flow (which helps the park dry faster during wet periods).

The project comes thanks to $807,000 in Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) funding on top of a $100,000 donation from the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation. The Whistler Skate Park's official grand opening ceremony is slated for June 7. More details on the event will be released in the coming weeks.

-By Brandon Barrett