Steve Smith among favorites for Canadian downhill nationals

The 2013 Canadian Downhill Mountain Bike Championships, scheduled for July 13-14 at the Panorama Mountain Resort in Panorama, British Columbia, will attract some of the best downhillers of the country, including number three-ranked Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) and the two reigning Canadian Champions Matthew Beer and number nine-ranked Casey Brown.

This will be the third time in the last four summers the resort has held the downhill race. Riders will compete there for the famous and sought-after "red and white jersey" awarded to each Canadian Champion.

The resort has hosted both downhill and cross country races from the local level to national. Panorama's Bike Park opened originally in the summer of 2002.

"This year's event will be bigger and better than last year's Canada Cup. We want to make Panorama's Downhill Mountain Bike Championships a must do for the best downhill mountain bikers in Canada. We have an outstanding venue here and are improving our trails every year," said Patrick Gillespie, Panorama's Race and Mountain Events Manager.

Racing will be held at the Panorama Bike Park, using the Insanity Bike Run.

The event runs Saturday with the qualifying races and Sunday with the championships races.