SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC

The BC Bike Race is a celebrated – almost infamous – challenge.

Seven days’ racing of up to 50 kilometres, around 6,000 metres climbing: a dream ticket for a committed rider with a childlike spirit. Taking part in the BC Bike Race was always a dream for Thomas Lapeyrie.

It promised to be an experience completely outside of his everyday: as a cross-country rider on the French national team, and then riding enduro as a pro, the former champion was more used to having a team with coaches and mechanics at his side, all working together to prepare for a single race. The BC, on the other hand, could not be any more different: multiple stages, multiple days, and a focus just as much on the experience as on performance pure and simple.

SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC

Travelling with a friend, Jerôme Clementz, Thomas began with two weeks’ visiting all the best mountain-bike trails in the West – Vancouver, Bellingham, Squamish, Kamloops, Whistler – before setting a course for the ferry to take them to Vancouver Island. All this before seven days’ racing, averaging 40 kilometres a day. Though the distances aren’t that impressive, the parcours are very physically demanding, on very technical terrain, with very little respite or flat sections.

The BC Bike Race isn’t just a race; the experience also comprises seven nights’ sleeping in a tent in the midst of the 550 other participants. They are either also in tents, or sleeping in vans, or – for a few elites – in an AirBnB. Everyone is woken each morning at 5:30 a.m. by the sound of the rooster mascot being made to ‘crow’ by one of the staff – that’s the kind of atmosphere there is at the BC! Between the camping and the physical demands of the race, it's fair to say the week was a very tiring one.

For Thomas, the best parts of it were the ambiance, discovering new experiences, and sharing them with the people he met. Across the week, meals were taken in large communal tents, with different groups at different set times, in a friendly atmosphere that encouraged riders to share their stories of the race.

SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC

Thomas’s goal wasn’t to win, but to have fun – while seeing new places and glimpsing new horizons. Conversely, the desire to compete on the downhill timed sections was very present – irresistible even, for this particular enduro rider! But in the race situation, this wasn’t at all easy. The first few days, blocked by riders in front, he found it impossible to find sufficient room. One day, it was his own chain that got in the way, jamming and forcing him to finish on foot. But his luck turned and, the following two days, he was able to perform, and he won the timed sections.

Another stage, another problem: his back brake broke early in the race. Not great news when big off-road descents are the order of the day. Luckily, there was a pit stop each day, staffed by mechanics from a workshop in the vicinity.

For Thomas, it’s easy to put all these small issues into perspective: they were an integral part of the adventure he was seeking. The most important thing was to savour each encounter, each new landscape. He arrived back home tired, but nourished by an experience he’d dreamed about having, and that he won’t quickly forget.

SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC
SEVEN DAYS | THE MTB BC

Now, he’s contemplating his next adventure for next year – the Trans NZ in New Zealand, perhaps. Watch this space…