Blacksheep Mountain Bike Club to host Cycling Canada championship in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Blacksheep Mountain Bike Club in Thunder Bay, Ont., is gearing up to host the Canadian XCM MTB Championships.

The Sept. 7 event, a cross-country marathon for mountain biking, will be the ninth stop in Cycling Canada's 2024 Canadian Championship calendar, with the first race starting Jan. 5.

The race hub will be at Kinsmen Park at Trowbridge Forest. Riders will race a 27-kilometre loop three times, passing through Trowbridge, Centennial Park, Shuniah Mines and new trails that have been built over the last few years.

Eric Bailey, chair of the organizing committee for Blacksheep and founding member since 1998, said this is the first time Thunder Bay has hosted a national championship — which has been the club's dream for almost 10 years.

"Thunder Bay has such a rich history of hosting big events and sort of punching above its weight," said Bailey. "And I think we want to continue that on the mountain bike scene and really show off what we have to offer. And hopefully, part of the legacy is that it gets our name out there [as] the mountain biking destination."

Werner Schwar, supervisor of parks and open space planning for the City of Thunder Bay, said he's personally excited for Thunder Bay to host the national championships because of his work with Blacksheep for the last 13 years.

"It's nice to see all that effort actually result in a big event like this happening," said Schwar. "The trails are great for locals to use and race on, or people to hike on, but then having other people come here and see and appreciate that, it takes it to the next level."

Blacksheep president David Valente said the bid process to host the national championship was lengthy because of the number of letters of support the club needed to acquire.

"From accommodations to the airport, there was a whole lot of [boxes] that needed to be checked off in order to host the national event, just based on Cycling Canada's requirements and ease for athletes to get to Thunder Bay." 

Bailey said the championship will coincide with the annual Shuniah Forty Miner, a two-day mountain bike racing event that includes live music and food booths. He said by having both events at the same time, he expects to see about 300 to 400 participants.

"I think in that particular category we're hoping that a bunch of the local athletes sort of see this announcement and get excited," said Bailey. "And they have a year and a half to train and prepare, and hopefully buy a national licence and move up to that category."

Valente said all racers, both the children and adults competing in the national championship and Shuniah Forty Miner, will be given the same kind of treatment on race day.

"We're going to try to treat everybody as if they are part of the national event at the same level and same scale, same everything, so they get that same kind of treatment, even though they might not be able to race that elite national event."

To put together the national event, Bailey said, Blacksheep has an organizing committee of 15 people and will need roughly 100 volunteers.