BC Bike Race launched into its 20th edition in dramatic fashion on Saturday, with a three way sprint for the men’s win. Nino Schurter up against two Canadians: Peter Disera and Carter Nieuwesteeg.
Cumberland delivers the drama on Day 1
When the greatest cross country racer of all time shows up on the start line, you kind of assume what the conclusion will be. But racing is racing, and anything can happen. Also, jet lag sucks. While the men’s field whittled down considerably over the course of a long, often rough opening climb, Nino Schurter still had a group of five riders around him at the top. On the way up, Nino looked to be letting, or encouraging, some of the riders to take a turn on the front. Several did, other’s thought better of it. It was Fernie, B.C.’s Carter Nieuwesteeg that took the initiative to lead into Poacher’s Trap and Ultimatum, a series of brand new trails included in this year’s race.
“I think we were all trying to pace it. Nino was trying to suss us out. We all kinda knew what we were getting into with him,” Nieuwesteeg recounted. “I knew if I had any shot of getting to the finish line near him, so I sprinted the group for the singletrack. But yeah, I had Nino on my wheel. That’s kind of a crazy thing to say. We got to the climb trail and I could barely breathe, he rolls up beside me and calmly says, ‘Hey, the trails are really nice today,’ hey?”
A little reality check from the G.O.A.T., but the race was still on. Nieuwesteeg continued to lead to the top of the next climb. Schurter continued to enjoy a local’s tour on unfamiliar trails.
“The first climb was quite hard, I could feel the journey coming over here but it was a good first wake up call and some super cool trails,” said Schurter of his day’s tactics, adding that he arrived in Canada just days ahead of the start. “I wanted to see a bit, I don’t know most of the guys. My goal is to have fun out on the trails and it’s good to follow someone that knows the trails.”
It wasn’t just Nieuwesteeg and Schurter on the front. Peter Disera, a past BC Bike Race champion, Olympian and now a Vancouver Island local, was using his experience at the race to his advantage. While Disera would be distanced on the climbs, he’d rejoin the front two again on the descents.
“I just paced myself at what I felt my max was for the climb. I’ve ridden cumberland a decent amount, so I could give away some time going into the descents and close it down. I don’t have a ton of top end speed right now,” Disera said, perhaps sandbagging his fitness just a bit.
Going into the final descent, Disera made his move. And got a gap. Schurter and Nieuwesteeg were left chasing on the final road into the finish line. While they made it back to Disera’s wheel, they ran out of road. In a three-way sprint finish, Disera held off Schruter, just barely, and Nieuwesteeg to open BCBR 2026 with a win.
“It was the first time I’ve done a legit sprint like that in a while. It hurt,” admits the now-semi-retired Disera. “I’m just happy to be here and have a good time. Coming away with the win today was definitely unexpected and not necessarily what I was going for. But when the opportunity presents itself you go for it.”
Holcolmb upsets the defending champs
On the women’s side, Ruth Holcomb took the opening win ahead of a field full of BC Bike Race champions. With Katerina Nash and Sandra Walter rounding out the podium, it’s a solid start for the Life Time Grand Prix U23 champ racing for Santa Cruz.
“I know Katerina and a lot of the other girls have done this before, know the trails and are really experienced, so I’m just trying to keep a low profile if I can and make moves where I feel like I have an advantage. Then just follow Katerina for the rest,” Holcomb said after the race.
Winning a stage has a way of blowing your cover, if you’re looking to avoid the attention of your competitors. Nash, it turns out, already saw Holcomb coming.
“She’s the real deal. It might be her first BCBR, but I knew she’d be one to watch and she proved today she’s got the complete tool set. It’ll be fun to try to stick on her wheel a little longer here or there,” Nash said after the finish.
For Nash, the final seven-day BC Bike Race is not an event she was going to miss.
“BC Bike Race has been such a big part of my career. My first one was in 2009, maybe? I didn’t do every one, but a lot of them. It felt like the right thing to do, and I’m stoked to be here!”
Another past champ, Maghalie Rochette, also walked away from Day 1 focused on the positives. The cyclo-cross World Cup podium finisher, many-time nation champ and 2024 BCBR winner finished the stage in fifth.
“In my mind, the person who wins the BC Bike Race is the person who’s having the most fun. Some years it’s about actually winning. I’m not as fit as I was in previous years when I was battling for the win, so this year, it’s about pushing myself and enjoying it.”
We all have our own definitions as “not as fit,” and Rochette’s looks pretty speedy. After her start to the race, the Quebec rider looks like she might already be looking further up the results sheet.
“I actually surprised myself hanging in with these guys on the climb. I didn’t ride super well on the first descent but it got better and I had a great time, so we’ll see. Maybe I’ll surprise myself on the next days. I’ll keep pushing, keep trying and keep having fun!”
BC Bike Race continues on Sunday with a side quest to Campbell River for the easy speed of the Snowden Demo Forest trails. There’s 47km on tap, making it the longest stage this year by distance. After some tight racing across the board on Monday, it should be exciting to see how this year’s race, the final in BCBR’s original format, shakes out.
2026 BC Bike Race Results: Day 1 – Cumberland
Open Women
1st. Ruth Holcomb 1:38:41.0
2nd. Katerina Nash 1:39:27.5 (+46.5)
3rd. Sandra Walter 1:40:57.3 (+2:16.3)
4th. Hannah Simms 1:40:58.2 (+2:17.2)
5th. Maghalie Rochette 1:41:53.5 (+3:12.5)
Open Men
1st. Peter Disera 1:20:28.9
2nd. Nino Schurter 1:20:29.3 (+0.4)
3rd. Carter Nieuwesteeg 1:20:29.7 (+0.8)
4th. Justin Peck 1:22:12.2 (+1:43.3)
5th. Max McCulloch 1:22:46.7 (+2:17.8)