BC Bike Race
Race Goes on Despite Sabotage
News Release / 01.07.2009
Without hesitation, course director Jeremy Grasby jumped on one of the safety team dirt bikes and blasted onto the course to replace the critical missing flags while riders fidgeted on their bikes in the start chute.
Sabotage is not uncommon during races like this; community members opposed to using the land for mountain biking make their point by removing flagging, placing obstacles on the trail and more. Beyond being a huge inconvenience for race organizers, such interference can be downright dangerous for riders. Incredibly, less than 8 minutes later, the flagging was fixed, the start gun fired and racers were off, spinning through the Village of Cumberland streets enroute to the trailhead.
The slight morning delay did not slow down the action on course. This was another lengthy day of almost all singletrack and riders appeared to really enjoy flowing with the trails, many of which were purpose built by local mountain bike enthusiasts or this segment of the BC Bike Race.
Local course designers also conduct trail maintenance and preservation in an attempt to keep the trails active and open for riders.
Canadian mountain biking phenom Geoff Kabush joined the starting ranks as a guest rider for the past two days of Vancouver Island riding. For those not in the know, Kabush is tearing up the world cup circuit and was ranked 4th overall in 2008. He's currently tied with legend Ned Overend with 4 US national XC series wins and with John Tomac for most XC wins ever – 14.
Kabush, who cut his teeth on the local Cumberland area trails, was on a mid-season break in his regular racing schedule when the opportunity to join in the BC Bike Race came along.
“It's pretty fun to come back and just do a fun ride with a bunch of the guys I know,� said Kabush referencing the Day Two ride. “They've
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