2019 Canada Cup travels from coast to coast and adds Enduro event
Cycling Canada announces 2019 cross country, downhill and enduro calendar
With new disciplines added to the calendar, world championships returning to Quebec, and more opportunities for junior racers, 2019 will be an exciting year for mountain biking in Canada.
UCI mountain bike world championships return to Mont-Sainte-Anne
Mont-Sainte-Anne is set to become the first venue to host UCI mountain bike world championships for a record third time. The historic race site will host the worlds best cross country and downhill athletes as they compete for the honour of wearing the rainbow strips of world champion for the following year. World championships will run from 28 Aug. to 1 Sept., and include Cross Country Relay (XCR), Cross Country Olympic (XCO) and Downhill (DH) events.
One before the start gun fires on the elite races, Mont-Sainte-Anne will host the best masters athletes from across the world at UCI masters mountain bike world championships. The event will be an excellent opportunity for Canada’s best masters downhill and cross country racers to try earn a world championship title on home soil. Masters world championships run from 21-23 August.
Canada Cup Downhill and Enduro
New for 2019 will be the addition Canadian Enduro national championships to the domestic calendar. Panorama Mountain Resort in B.C. hosted the first Canadian national enduro championships in 2018, but with the Enduro World Series partnering with UCI, the event will be a Cycling Canada sanctioned event for the first time.
Canadian enduro championships will run together with Canadian downhill championships for one action packed weekend of racing at Panorama, running from 27-28 July. The super-weekend will be conclude three weeks of back-to-back Canada Cup downhill racing in B.C. After an opening weekend at Crossroads Canada Cup (25 May), Fernie (20 July) runs straight into Silver Star (13 July) and then Panorama. Canada Cup downhill racing concludes in Whistler on 18 Aug. with the Canadian Open Downhill, part of the annual Crankworx Whistler festival.
UPDATE: The originally scheduled Fernie DH has been cancelled. Kicking Horse Western Open has been moved forward to July 21, and will now be a Canada Cup and BC Cup DH event.
Canada Cup XCO
Cross country racing will traverse the country from the opening round in Victoria, B.C., with what is becoming the traditional start to the season at Bear Mountain on 31 March, to the final Canada Cup stop in Kentville, Nova Scotia on 17-18 Aug. Between the two coasts, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta will host cross country racing, as well as another stop out west in Whistler.
Cross country national championships will return to Ontario for the next two years, with Hardwood Ski & Bike hosting 2019 and 2020 XCO Canadian championships. XC Marathon nationals will stay in Quebec, with St-Felicien hosting the long distance event on 7-8 Sept.
RELATED: Road nationals headed to Beauce as 2019 Canadian cycling calendar confirmed
After a successful inaugural season, the under-17 men’s and women’s categories will return as official Canada Cup mountain bike categories in XCO. The youngest category will continue to follow the same points structure and race requirements as the juniors, as they did this year.
Canada’s rising crop of junior racers will have more domestic opportunities to earn the UCI points needed for better positions on the start grid at international events. The number of UCI-sanctioned Junior XCO events doubles for 2019 and includes four events and the UCI Junior Series level.
2019 Canada Cup and Canadian championship XCO / DH / Enduro calendar
31 March 2019 – Bear Mountain XCO – Victoria, B.C. (UCI C1 XCO / UCI Junior Series)
25 May 2019 – Crossroads Canada Cup XCO/DH – Mont Tremblant, Que. (UCI C2 XCO / UCI Junior Series / UCI C2 DH)
1 June 2019 – Baie-Saint-Paul, Que. XCO & XCC – Baie-Saint-Paul, Que. (UCI C1 XCOÂ / UCI Junior Series / UCI C3 XCO)
8 June 2019 – Sherbrooke Canada Cup XCO –Â Sherbrooke, Que. (UCI C2 XCO)
22 June 2019 – Whistler Canada Cup XCO – Whistler, B.C. (UCI C2 XCO / UCI C2 Jr.)
29 June 2019 – Canmore Canada Cup XCO – Canmore, Alta (UCI C2 XCO / UCI Junior Series)
13 July 2019 – Silverstar Canada Cup DH – Vernon, B.C. (UCI C2 DH)
14 July 2019 – Horseshoe Resort Canada Cup XCO – Oro Station, Ont. (UCI C3 XCO / UCI C3 Jr.)
20 July 2019 – Canadian XCO mountain bike championships – Oro Station, Ont. (UCI CN XCO)
20 July 2019 – Kicking Horse Western Open (Canada Cup) –Â Golden, B.C. (UCI C2 DH)
27 July 2019 – Canadian Enduro mountain bike championships – Panorama, B.C. (UCI CN END)
28 July 2019 – Canadian DH mountain bike championships – Panorama, B.C. (UCI CN DH)
17 Aug. 2019 – Kentville Canada Cup XCO – Kentville, N.S. (UCI C2 XCO)
18 Aug. 2019 – Canadian Open DH Canada Cup – Whistler, B.C. (UCI C1 DH)
21 Aug. 2019 – UCI master mountain bike world championships – Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. (UCI CMM)
28 Aug. 2019 – UCI mountain bike world championships – Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. (UCI CM – XCO, XCR, DH)
7 Sept. 2019 – Canadian XCM mountain bike championships – St.-Félicien, Que. (UCI CN XCM)