Mountain bike racing will continue in Squamish in 2017.

It’s been announced that the Spakwus 50 Marathon Mountain Bike Race will take place in June of next year. Lead Organizer & Race Director Dwayne Kress says the signature event will take place on June 17th, with two other dates hosting events such as an orientation day and skills/clinic day will also take place throughout the year.

Kress was the Race Director for the Test of Metal ‘Just Another Bike Race’ (JABR) and says the new race is “definitely built on the spirit of the Test of Metal”. He says it’s very similar to the JABR race as it’s also located in the Garibaldi Highlands and is very trail orientated like the ‘Gear Jammer’ and JABR. The overall length of the new race is planned to be 55km although that may change with new trails coming onto the scene soon.

Kress says when it came to naming the event they wanted to continue promoting Squamish and wanted to reflect what the town meant to people. Spakwus means Bald Eagle in the Squamish Nation language, and symbolises the wildly majestic beauty of the Squamish Valley. Squamish is unofficially known as the bald eagle capital of Canada.

Organizers will be on the look out for volunteers soon to help coordinate and operate the events. You can find more details at Spakwus50.com.

 

Photo Credit: Jereme Rauckman / flickr.com

Filed under: bike, District of Squamish, Mountain bike, Spakwus 50, Squamish, Test of Metal