Whistler Gravity Festival brings top mountain bikers to Whistler
For seven days in July, Whistler will be the epicenter of the mountain bike world, with events ranging from our national mountain bike championships to international bikercross, trials, slick tire, and freeride events.
The Whistler Summer Gravity Festival is in its first year, although many of the events are in their second and third year.
The Festival was created to follow the Grouse Mountain UCI World Cup the weekend before, ensuring that the top athletes from around the globe will be in the neighbourhood. Last year the events brought out top World Cup names like Steve Peat of Great Britain, Cedric Gracia and Anne-Caroline Chausson of France, Brian Lopes of the U.S., as well all of the top Canadian riders.
On top of all the competitions, the festival will feature movie premiers, demos, a mountain bike industry expo at the base of the mountain, guided tours of local trails, and various camps and clinics hosted by the pros.
For Whistler, mountain biking is a growing business. Ridership in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park has been growing between 50 and 60 per cent each year, with a record 46,000 rider visits logged last season. This season, the park is on course to break the record once again.
A River Runs Through It, one of Whistler’s most popular local trails, had more than 14,000 riders over a three month period last summer. And it is only one of dozens of such bike trails in Whistler.
The RMOW, Tourism Whistler and Intrawest have all embraced mountain biking as a key recreational activity in town, and are actively promoting Whistler as the top mountain bike destination in North America.
The Whistler Summer Gravity Festival combines all disciplines of the sport, packing them in a spectator friendly way that can only enhance Whistler’s growing reputation as a dirt lover’s paradise.
Chris Winter, the manager of communications for the festival, credits the growth of mountain biking in town to the energy and vision of Whistler riders.
"I think the main reason why Whistler is going off in so many respects comes from the community and the people, the passion of the local mountain bikers to build trails, to ride daily, to get everybody psyched about it," said Winter.
Whistler has helped to contribute to the whole mountain bike freeride movement, which began in the North Shore trails, and in the interior with riders like Richie Schley pushing the limits, mixing BMX and mountain bike disciplines to create a whole new sport.
The freeride movement has in turn influenced bike technology as a whole, said Winter, contributing to the redesign of bikes for road racing, cross-country mountain biking, and other sports.
"The most recent addition to the freeride revolution, evolution, is the bike park, and that’s where Whistler is definitely leading the way for the rest of the world," said Winter.
"All the biking around here is generally technical, but suddenly you can practice it in a controlled environment, with green, blue and black trails, skill centres, patrollers on bikes – it’s a good venue for the progression of mountain biking, and takes destination mountain biking to a whole new level."
Whistler already has a good reputation around the world, said Winter.
"The mountain bike culture here, there’s nothing like it in the world. I’m quite convinced of that, having travelled to Europe and the U.S. and around the world," he said.
"As soon as the word gets out (about Whistler), and this festival is a huge leap for us, it’s going to go off."
Tim Hortons Mountain Bike National Championships – July 18 to 20
The top cross-country and downhill mountain bikers in Canada, including some of the top riders in the world, will be in Whistler for the national championships. There are elite categories for the top racers, as well as a number of skill level and age group categories for kids Under 15 to adults over 50.
Expect a large number of Whistler riders to participate in all levels and age groups, including our local elite racers who have been participating on the Canada Cup and B.C. Cup circuits.
All of the cross-country riders will compete on the same six kilometre circuit, with different groups completing different numbers of laps.
The downhillers will ride a challenging four kilometre course from mid-station to Whistler Village.
The route for the competitions will not be confirmed until they are opened for course inspections and training on July 16.
Wednesday, July 15
The cross-country course opens for training and the downhill course opens for walking inspections from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, July 16
The downhill course opens for training from noon to 4:30 p.m., after which the course will be closed to elite categories until 6 p.m. The cross-country course is open for training again from noon to 5 p.m.
Friday, July 17
The cross country course is open for training from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the downhill course is open from noon to 2 p.m. for all riders, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for elite riders, and from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 19
The cross-country event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The 8:30 start time is for men’s Youth Under 15 (ages 11 to 14), Junior/Under 17 Sport (ages 15 to 18), Junior Beginner Sport 19 to 29, Master Beginner Sport 30 to 39 and Master Beginner Sport 40 and Over, and women’s Youth Under 15, Junior/Under 17 Sport, and Senior/Beginner Sport.
The second start at 10 a.m. is for men’s Junior Expert (17 and 18), Youth Expert Under 17 (15-16), Senior Beginner Sport 19 to 29, and women’s Youth Expert Under 17/Junior (15 to 18), Senior Expert 19 to 29 and Master Expert 30 and Over. Awards for the day’s races are at 1 p.m.
The Timbits Challenge at the base of the mountain for kids 10 and under takes place from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
In downhill, the hill is open for training from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by a mandatory seeding run for elite athletes from until 2 p.m. The downhill championship final takes place from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by the awards at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 20
Cross-country competition continues with a first start at 8:45 a.m. with men’s Master Expert 30 to 39 and Senior Expert 20 to 29. Awards are at noon.
The second start leaves at 11 a.m. with elite Women. The Elite and Espoir (Under 23) Men get underway at 1:30 p.m. The elite awards are at 4:30 p.m.
Joyride Bikercross – Monday, July 14
In its third year, the Joyride Bikercross is a freeride event that pits groups of four riders against one another on a spectator friendly course at the base of Whistler Mountain, with challenging tables, tight turns, bump sections, and other technical features.
Because of its proximity to the World Cup events at Grouse Mountain the weekend before, the Joyride Bikercross is expected to draw some big names for the tour.
Already on the list this year for the bikercross, and other events like the Air Downhill, are Steve Peat of Great Britain, Cedric Gracia of France – two of the top World Cup racers on the circuit – and Canadian legends Wade Simmons, Richie Schley, Dave Watson, Andrew Shandro, Thomas Vanderham and others.
"Paddy Kaye and myself were years ahead of our time with Joyride," said organizer Chris Winter. "When we went to potential sponsors, not only did we have to tell them about the event, we had to explain what it was. Since then we’ve had such a big evolution in the sport that almost everybody understands the freeriding concept."
Joyride gets underway with registration and training from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed immediately by the qualification rounds until 5 p.m. The contest gets underway in earnest at 6 p.m., so you’ll have lots of time to get there from work. The awards are at 7:30 p.m. followed by an after part at a location to be announced.
The top pro male will earn a purse of $3,500. There is $1,200 for second, $600 for third and $300 for fourth.
In the women’s race, the top pro prize is $700, then $200, $100, and $50.
The Amateur prizes are $500, $100, $75 and $50.
In addition, there are heats for juniors, and other age and skill divisions.
Expect a crowd of thousands to turn up, but there are lots of good spots to catch the race.
Air Downhill – Tuesday, July 15
In its second year, the Air Downhill demands that riders spend some time in the air and on the edge with competitors racing the clock down the Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s now famous A-Line trail.
Every competitor has to take a mandatory training run between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and the seeding races take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The race, which could have hundreds of competitors in different divisions this year, gets underway at 1 p.m., and the awards at 4:30 p.m. The after party, at a location to be announced, gets underway at 6 p.m.
There are cash prizes of $3,350 for the pro men, including $2,000 for first, $750 for second, $500 for third, and $100 for fourth. For pro women, the awards are $400, $125, $100 and $50. For amateurs, it’s $300, $100, $75 and $50.
Whistler Village Fat Tire Criterium – Friday, July 18
After disappearing for a few years before reappearing last fall, the Fat Tire Crit is back again.
It doesn’t get any more crowd friendly than this event, which takes place on a short course around the Village Stroll in Whistler Village, on a flagstone course lined with gates and hay bales. It’s fast, dangerous, and there is a lot of passing and maneuvering.
The day opens with a Kids’ Crit for kids aged 4 to 10 from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Women’s Junior Expert Crit runs from 3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., the Men’s Junior Expert Crit is from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., the Elite Women’s Crit is from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the Elite Men’s Crit is from 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Awards are at 7 p.m., followed by a party at a location to be announced.
There are cash prizes on the line for the Elite Men and Women. The top males get $300, $200, $100 and $50, and the top females get $250, $150, $75 and $25.
Slopestyle Expression Session – Saturday, July 19
In case you haven’t noticed, the base of Whistler Mountain is looking a little different this year with boxes, wall rides, gap jumps, dirt piles, and a new big drop higher up along the same rock wall as the famed GLC drop.
This year the event organizers are inviting 15 of the world’s top freeride mountain bikers for a jam session in the new park, which will be judged by peers in the industry.
Because of its location, the course is in a prime location for spectators.
The fun gets underway at 6 p.m. with training runs until 6:45. The event gets underway at 7 p.m. and lasts an hour.
The top prize is $2,000, plus $700 for second place and $375 for third.
Trials Competition – Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20
The best trials riders in North America have been invited to compete in this event, the first major trials event in Whistler. Cyclists will negotiate a course with large rocks, narrow ramps without getting off of their bikes. The rider who clears the course in the shortest amount of time with the fewest number of dabs wins.
Particulars are still being worked out, but it looks like the warm-up will be on Saturday and the finals on Sunday, with training running from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and the event running noon to 12:45 p.m.
World’s Biggest Loonie Race – Thursday, July 17
Members of the public and visitors to the resort are invited to participate in the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association’s weekly Loonie Races. The event typically attracts between 200 and 300 riders each week, and WORCA is going for a record, followed by the World’s Biggest Loonie Race After Party.
The course and prizes have yet to be announced.
In addition to the competitions, the Whistler Summer Gravity Festival features a number of daily and special events.
Ride with the Stars – Some of Whistler’s top riders will be guiding downhill, freeride and cross-country tours in the bike park and on local trails on Wednesday, July 16, at a time and location to be announced.
Athlete and Industry Tech Talk and Forum – on Friday, July 18, you will be able to meet with top riders and ask them questions about equipment, training, diet, technology – anything you’re curious about. More details to follow.
