Four time World Champion Brian Lopes will swap his usual downhill and 4X bikes for their cross-country equivalent when he lines up for the 2011 BC Bike Race in Canada on July 2.
“BC bike race, wow! I never thought I would say I’m looking forward to doing an XC stage race, but I am,” said Lopes. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the course this year and although I am not expecting any great result, I am expecting an experience that will last a lifetime.”
Lopes, 39, who races gravity events for Oakley and Ibis throughout the UCI World Cup season, is relishing the opportunity to race on the singletrack of British Columbia. The event has so far filled 83% of the available 500 rider spots. Despite his international pedigree on the gravity circuit, Lopes will be a relative rookie when he lines up for his first participation in the event.
“Seven days of riding sweet single track, four ferry transfers, over 30,000ft of climbing, it all sounds fun and exhausting,” said the California native. “Finishing this event is going to be tough, but usually the best things in life are…time to start putting in some longer consecutive rides than I’m used to.”
The BC Bike Race has evolved in its five years to include a combination of longer point-to-point courses, as well as full singletrack loops in communities in and around Vancouver Island.
Organisers have also increased the reach of the event with their ‘Challenge’ course, which takes in approximately half the distance of the full event. A map of the course can be viewed here.
For more information about the race visit the event website. And for more information about Brian Lopes’ participation in the event you can also visit his website.