More than 170 cross-country mountain bike racers from across Ontario hit the trails on the outskirts of Sudbury this weekend
The Walden Mountain Bike Club hosted the OCUP No.3 race in the 2023 Ontario Cup Mountain Bike Series.
Rob St. Marseille of Sudbury the chief of course for the event outlined why the races were held.
“This is the Ontario Cup XCO-series, which is a cross country mountain bike, the Olympic style format. This is the third race of three, and it's the final tuneup race before the provincials next month," he said.
"And we have 174 racers here today, ranging in age from eight to right up into the sixties. So, we have the categories are sport, expert, and elite. So quite a range of abilities," said St. Marseille.
He said not every racer is competitive, as many of the riders do the course just to be able to have bragging rights of completing several laps on a 7.5 kilometre course.
"Well, it is an open event, but those who choose to race the whole series, they collect points for the series," said St. Marseille.
"This is the feeder system for Team Ontario and then the national program," he added. He said former champions of the sport could be riding and future champions as well.
He added that it speaks well for Sudbury and the Walden club to be holding the event.
"Yeah, we were approached by Ontario Cycling, the governing body overseeing the sport. The Walden mountain bike club has done this event before, approximately 10 years ago. And when they approached us, we said, Sure, let's do it. And with some great help from the city and our corporate partners, and you know, our riding community, they've all jumped in. We have lots of good volunteers and made a really great course here," said St. Marseille.
He added that he couldn't express enough thanks for the support that mountain biking receives in Greater Sudbury.
"Mountain biking and cycling in general has grown in Sudbury; has grown exponentially over the past 10 years. And that's great work from, you know, the local bike shops have really got on board. And you know, they've really been generous and supportive of our clubs and the other groups that promote the sport. And you know, the bringing these races here certainly brings attention to mountain biking and it's pretty good," said St. Marseille.
He said he was especially pleased to see more than 40 riders, members of the Sudbury Wolfpak Racing club riding to represent the city.
