The epic seven-day BC Bike Race makes its stop for stages four and five July 3 and 4 in Sechelt.
The ultimate single-track adventure, BC Bike Race celebrates its seventh year in 2013 and is not slowing down.
The event starts June 30 with stage one in Cumberland, finishing on July 6 in Whistler with other stops in Campbell River, Powell River and Squamish.
Day four on July 3 will see riders travel a 68-km route from Earls Cove to Sechelt with the finish line at the former Sechelt Elementary School grounds. Riders will rest up and refuel that night while also enjoying the inaugural Sechelt Outdoor Festival in Hackett Park, and then travel 40 km for stage five from Sechelt to the Langdale ferry terminal on July 4.
Marketing media manager Dave Howells said they have a winning formula that riders from around the globe just want to be a part of.
"Once you establish a winning formula, you kind of stick with it. The last two years have been outstanding," he said. "The courses and the riding have really been established with the support of all our communities along the way. Logistics are always a challenge, but our community organizers and volunteers have really stepped up."
This year BC Bike Race will have riders representing 26 different countries. The field of 550 riders also sold out in record time this year. In fact, according to Howells, there is already more than a 100-rider wait list for registration to open for the 2014 event.
"So that probably means we will set another record sell-out when registration opens for 2014," he said. "Based on the interest that surrounds this race, it has become a global bucket list event. If you are a mountain biker, you have to do it. People just want to come to B.C. and ride the single track. And why wouldn't you? It's awesome here. You have fantastic riding on the Coast."
The epic event within BC Bike Race sees riders complete on average 50 km per day. The Enduro is the race within the race, which features 13 specially timed downhill segments during the seven days. There are also four kids' races (ages three to 13) along the way in North Vancouver (on June 29 during event registration), in Cumberland June 30, in Sechelt July 3 and in Squamish July 5.
In all, there are 350 km of riding, 75 per cent on singletrack trails, more than 7,000 metres of altitude change and an average ride time of three to six hours per day.
Like the Ironman or the New York City Marathon, 80 per cent of these riders are weekend warriors who look forward to rubbing shoulders with Olympians and world champions.
The top male contenders include Squamish's Neal Kindree who is looking to defend his 2012 title, Matt Hadley, the overall Canada Cup winner in 2011, and Cory Wallace, an endurance specialist who was second at the 24 hour Worlds in 2010 and who won a stage at last year's BC Bike Race.
The top female contenders include Wendy Simms, who is back to defend her women's title from last year, and Anika Bergman, the 2012 Swedish national champion and former Whistler resident.
For more on BC Bike Race see www.bcbikerace.com.
