Weekend Preview: O-Cup, B.C. Champs and enduro

Summer may be winding down but that doens’t mean mountain biking is done for the season. With many series pushing their race calendar’s back into the fall, this weekend is a big, and diverse weekend for racing in Canada. There’s cross country provincial championships, enduro events and even some cyclocross getting started.

Wherever you are, there’s probably a race happening near you this weekend. Here’s what’s going on, from Keppoch to Quebec and Abbotsford to Albion Hills.

2021 B.C. Provincial XC championships

After a long delay, cross country racing is back in B.C. This weekend is the first provincial XCO championships since 2019. Fittingly, the race returns to Glenridge Acres in Abbostford, 45 minutes east of Vancouver. Fittingly because Glendrige was one of the first venues to bring cross country back to B.C. in any format. First as “Throwdown Thursdays” time trial races, an early outlet for mountain bikers craving racing during the early phases of 2019. Organizer Mike Rauch has used this same property in the past to host the 12 Hours of Glenridge, and continues to create opportunities for B.C. racers.

Registration and race guide through Cycling BC.

Marin WildSide Enduro – Mont Lac-Vert

Marin WildSide continues its 2021 season of enduro, gravel and bikepacking events, this time in Lac-Saint-Jean. The Mont Lac-Vert trail network plays host in the series’ penultimate round of enduro racing before heading to the hallowed slopes of Mont-Sainte-Anne in October.

Superfly Racing – Albion Hills O-Cup XC#4 / Mass Start Race

O-Cup racing continues with another double header in Ontario. Saturday is a mass-start XC race, not part of the O-Cup series, at Albion Hills. On Sunday, O-Cup #4 returns in its individual pursuit format at the same venue.

Info at OCA.

Keppoch Mountain Enduro Challenge

Enduro heads to Nova Scotia’s only shuttle-serviced gravity park for a big Sunday of enduro racing! Limited to 125-riders. Register through Keppoch Mountain, follow the action on Instagram.

Cross is back

Sure, it’s not strictly mountain biking. But cyclocross is a whole lot of fun. And it’s on dirt. Or in the mud, depending on the weekend.

ABCXC (Alberta Cyclocross Collective) is back with its first races of 2021, Zombie Cross 1 & 2 at Argyll Velodrome in Edmonton. Info through ABA.

Further west, Cross on the Rock kicks off its season in Cumberland, B.C. with Coal Cross.

RELATED: 15 years of Cross on the Rock