David Charette battles around the course for a silver medal in the cross-country event at the 2017 B.C. High School Mountain Biking provincials. (Image contributed)
Salmon Arm Secondary School will be hosting the annual B.C. School Sports Mountain Bike Championships May 26, putting their teams up against the strongest riders from schools across B.C..
The championships feature two different categories, separating racers into cross-country and enduro divisions which each feature a bracket for senior (grades 11-12) and junior (grades 8-10) riders. Over 200 riders are expected to register for the championships, with nearly 40 of them competing on behalf of Salmon Arm Secondary and Shuswap Middle School.
Historically Salmon Arm has been known to field the largest team at these championships, likely due to the popularity of mountain biking and sheer number of trails in the Shuswap.
Chris Stromgren, who coaches the SAS mountain bike teams, says of the local riders “I think they are feeling confident, we’ve got some really good talent, should have some top results especially in the senior girls and senior boys divisions.”
The all-mountain cross-country races will be held on a 12km course for the senior riders and a 9km course for the junior riders, with approximately 500m of elevation gain throughout the track. Riders will be challenged with a short road climb to start the race, followed by lengthy sections of winding single track with three more road sections to facilitate passing.
Stromgren says these championship courses are likely to be more physically demanding than any previous High School Mountain Biking Championship course and riders have been advised to prepare accordingly.
“In years past the championship courses haven’t included as much single track trail,” he says. “So these kids are really going to be challenged with some gruelling climbs on single track trails which will challenge their cardio, their endurance and their skills.”
A map of the senior cross-country course can be found on the Trail Forks website by clicking this link, while the junior cross country course can be viewed by clicking this link.
The enduro course will see riders attempting to outlast one another and complete laps of three sections, totalling approximately 10.5km for the senior riders and 8.5km for the junior riders. There will be plenty of up-and-down sections along the course which will test riders’ endurance on the upswing and their downhill speed skills on the downswing.
A map of the enduro course can be viewed on the Trail Forks website by clicking this link.
While Stromgren notes the SAS and SMS teams are going into these championships with a distinct home-trail advantage, he warns of the risks of overconfidence.
“They might be going in a little bit overconfident, I’ve seen a little bit of that,” he says. “Some kids were humbled in our race yesterday on our enduro course. My top riders who had the home trail advantage didn’t necessarily win the category, there is definitely some fast riders out there.”
However, he notes the team excels in their cross-country discipline and will likely see their best results in that category.
