Inaugural Pacific Traverse race comes to BC

The inaugural British Columbia Bike the Pacific Traverse will begin July 1 in Victoria and will run 550km in seven stages through nine West Coast communities from the Pacific shores of the capital city to the Olympic village of Whistler. The course is being designed by long-time racer Andreas Hestler.

Among the favorites going into the race will be Trek VW duo of Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk, who announced their participation this week. Eatough is a six-time 24 Hour Solo World Champion and two time 24 Hour US National Champion.

"I find these kinds of races to be excellent training and preparation for my other races," said Eatough in an interview published on the promoter's website regarding his upcoming participation, www.bcbikerace.com. "I have done the Transalp race before and I found that I got really good fitness from doing that race. So there is definitely the training benefit but also there is the challenge...having a 7-day stage race through that area is a great opportunity to ride some singletrack and do some hardcore mountain biking, this was really appealing to me."

For more information, visit www.bcbikerace.com.