BCBR Gravel Explorer launches in 2021
Five-day mixed-surface race will explore the best of B.C.'s Okanagan, on and off the bike
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BC Bike Race
New gravel events are arriving in Canada every other week it seems. Some promise a rugged adventure. Others are more refined, like a well-balanced wine. The Gravel Explorer, announced today as the latest BC Bike Race event, will bring a well-considered mix of both as it traverses the Okanagan for the first time in 2021.
BCBR Gravel is a new five-day gravel stage-race, running its first-ever edition from September 26 to October 1, 2020. Running through the vast backroads and hills, it will offer adventure. Finishing every day down among the vineyards in the valley below, The Gravel Explorer will also deliver the best of the Okanagan’s renowned reputation for excellent wines. As BCBR puts it:
“Savory, earthy, well balanced with loose gravel, single track and a hint of perspiration; pairs well with Pinot”
BCBR Gravel Explorer
Offering five days of racing, BCBR Gravel’s route makes the most of a modern gravel bike. That is to say, an adventure beyond the ordinary. Trestle bridges, hints of singletrack, and winding remote gravel roads will all come together in one race.
“Who else would you expect to throw all-terrain adventure, multi-day gravel routes and everything under the beautiful Okanagan sky into a blender?,” says Jon Bula, co-owner of BCBR Gravel’s founding sponsor, Bicicletta. “Add hints of the Naramata bench wineries and a dash of singletrack- then uncork with panache – only the BC Bike Race”
The Gravel Explorer will build off of BCBR’s fifteen years of experience organizing a travelling, multi-day stage race. As you might expect from a group with deep roots in off-road racing, BCBR Gravel will mix everything from Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) and the area’s fantastic singletrack.
The inaugural event is timed to take advantage of both wineries, and excellent early-fall riding conditions.
“Adding another event to our roster bookends BC’s riding season with a race in the early summer and now a race in the fall – we will add BCBR Gravel to our roster along with BC Bike Race the “Ultimate Singletrack Experience”. Dean Payne President of the BCBR.
Registration for the first running of the BCBR Gravel Explorer opens on February 9, 2021.
2021 BCBR Gravel: Details
COVID:
All current COVID protocols and health authority regulations will be adhered to and monitored throughout the week.
Categories available:
Solo: Open Men, Open Women, 30+, 40+, 50+, 60+. Teams of 2 (see website for details)
Dates:
Sept 26- Oct 1, 2021
Website:
www.bcbrgravel.com
While BCBR Gravel is new, the classic BC Bike Race is still running. The mountain bike stage race is heading into its fifteenth edition. The seven-day B.C. classic is scheduled to run from July 4-10 2021.
