Pan-Am games has MTB right?

[HSCoach2]

Where will it be? Hardwood? Which of our current Cadet and Junior stars will be competing?

[ddakin]

Does it have MTB? I couldn't find a location for a venue on their bid venue map and was wondering the same thing. I found track, BMX and road, but maybe I just missed MTB.
It's FANTASTIC news for cycling in this area though!

[Circlip]

The last Pan-Am games had XC, BMX, road and track. To the best of my knowledge Hardwood was the proposed site included in the summer Olympic bid. If we follow the bouncing ball that means XC at Hardwood for Pan Ams. As an alternative, how about keep it urban and do the XC in the Don?

[osokolo]

Phat, would you consider being my exclusive sponsor?

Originally Posted by Circlip

The last Pan-Am games had XC, BMX, road and track. To the best of my knowledge Hardwood was the proposed site included in the summer Olympic bid. If we follow the bouncing ball that means XC at Hardwood for Pan Ams. As an alternative, how about keep it urban and do the XC in the Don?

[Colonel]

The original TO 2008 MTB venue was the Don. It was stupidly changed to HWH which the IOC criticized on account of the significant distance from the village etc. . . all of this in spite of the fact that the IOC was driven to the venue with police escort at considerable speed. The changes (dumbing down) to the Don may make it more suitable as a pure XC venue than it was back in 2000 when it was last considered, but i suspect it is still too off camber and rooty to be considered.

[Enduramil]

Originally Posted by Colonel

but i suspect it is still too off camber and rooty to be considered.

So, we have been doing it wrong.

[Jawz]

http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=17819

[osokolo]

Can you imagine in the lightest of terms, what kind of XC race it would be in the Don after or during a good rain??? A horror...

There is no way it should be the venue - Hardwood Hills is so much better venue, despite the distance...

Originally Posted by Colonel

The original TO 2008 MTB venue was the Don. It was stupidly changed to HWH which the IOC criticized on account of the significant distance from the village etc. . . all of this in spite of the fact that the IOC was driven to the venue with police escort at considerable speed. The changes (dumbing down) to the Don may make it more suitable as a pure XC venue than it was back in 2000 when it was last considered, but i suspect it is still too off camber and rooty to be considered.

[Enduramil]

Originally Posted by osokolo

Can you imagine in the lightest of terms, what kind of XC race it would be in the Don after or during a good rain??? A horror...

There is no way it should be the venue - Hardwood Hills is so much better venue, despite the distance...

I dangerously assume that is sarcasm.

According to a source I know, the Don is in fact still in the running for the XC venue.

[osokolo]

I was at the Don today, and unless the north part is SERIOUSLY rebuild with excellent drainage system - it will be a write off if it rains...

But, let's assume that it is still in the running... What makes you think that the north part can be redone to withstand the rigors of such a high level competitions? It is worse than the worst parts of Albion Hills when it comes to wet conditions...

Originally Posted by Enduramil

I dangerously assume that is sarcasm.

According to a source I know, the Don is in fact still in the running for the XC venue.

[Enduramil]

Originally Posted by osokolo

I was at the Don today, and unless the north part is SERIOUSLY rebuild with excellent drainage system - it will be a write off if it rains...

North part- you talking by the paint factory or over in the East.

My hunch is that the area to be used will be within the Crothers Woods area. It provides the easiest access for all those important XC race items- camera crews, trucks, and so on.

[Kay.]

I'm surprised organizers wouldn't look into the Heights of Horseshoe (or whatever it's called, on the north side of the road) where a few Ocups were once held. It's got way more elevation than HH, an equally good mix of singletrack and doubletrack, plus wide open ski runs where you can put gruelling uphill climbs with room for the spectators.

I can't see the Don as a credible option. It's an ESA, remember? Previous discussions on this forum that seem to have been referenced above were strictly about the linear trail and the ability of a small-business organizer to clean up after a small race event. Now you're proposing to send thousands of spectators, camera crews, television trucks, hotdog carts and suchlike running amok not ON the trail itself but rather all over the precious carolinian forest from side to side and top to bottom. All sarcasm aside, I suspect there are plenty of others who would pop out of the woodwork to object, and not just on internet forums either.

[Enduramil]

Originally Posted by Kay.

I'm surprised organizers wouldn't look into the Heights of Horseshoe (or whatever it's called, on the north side of the road) where a few Ocups were once held. It's got way more elevation than HH, an equally good mix of singletrack and doubletrack, plus wide open ski runs where you can put gruelling uphill climbs with room for the spectators.

I can't see the Don as a credible option. It's an ESA, remember? Previous discussions on this forum that seem to have been referenced above were strictly about the linear trail and the ability of a small-business organizer to clean up after a small race event. Now you're proposing to send thousands of spectators, camera crews, television trucks, hotdog carts and suchlike running amok not ON the trail itself but rather all over the precious carolinian forest from side to side and top to bottom. All sarcasm aside, I suspect there are plenty of others who would pop out of the woodwork to object, and not just on internet forums either.

No matter where the XC venue will be people will beitch and moan.

Apparently in the Toronto Sun today the venue is supposedly somewhere in Caledon. Let the beitching about that begin.

[Lutzy]

That link above for Canadain Cyclist says the event will happen at Hardwood Hills. I wouldn't think any other location would have all the resources and infrastructure currently available/existing. There is no possible way that event would ever be held in the Don. Its only recently being recognized as a legitimate trail system, let alone hosting a continental championship.

[osokolo]

on the same bank of the river... If they can setup the course and not include this section, then maybe...

Still think that HH is a better venue though...

Originally Posted by Enduramil

North part- you talking by the paint factory or over in the East.

My hunch is that the area to be used will be within the Crothers Woods area. It provides the easiest access for all those important XC race items- camera crews, trucks, and so on.

[Enduramil]

Don't worry, there will be Pan Am games construction in the Don. It will be readily viewable from the Doobatorium.

[Enduramil]

Originally Posted by osokolo

on the same bank of the river... If they can setup the course and not include this section, then maybe...

Nope. Wouldn't work anyways. The foliage coverage wouldn't allow any TV work.

If they where to do it, I'd guess it would be a multi lap event in Crothers Woods area like Ziggy did on the CofT Approved trails in to Sun Valley.

[veteran_youth]

Thank my media monitoring GF for this

Hardwood to host the world;
The Orillia Packet And Times
Mon Nov 9 2009
Page: A1
Section: News
Byline: SARA ROSS, THE PACKET AND TIMES;
Hardwood Ski and Bike has been selected to host mountain bike competitions for the 2015 Pan Am Games, said Jack Sasseville, president and general manager of the Oro-Medonte facility.
"For us, it's tremendous. We're really proud that this has happened," he said. "We have held Canada Cups, but this is the first really, truly international event that will be held here and by far the largest."
The Pan-Am Games will be based in Toronto with events held in the city and across the Greater Golden Horseshoe region for over 25 days in July and August, 2015.
Hardwood Ski and Bike was selected to hold the mountain bike competitions because the facility was originally part of Toronto's 2008 Summer Olympic bid, Sasseville said.
"They went around to all the places in southern Ontario and found that this was the best facility that they could hold the mountain biking events at," he said. "I think the Pan Am Games committee said you know what, they did a lot of work to get that and there is no reason why we would have to reinvent the wheel."
Sasseville said infrastructure plans for Hardwood Ski and Bike could be in the works over the next six years in preparation for the games.
"Could we (hold the Pan Am Games) tomorrow, no," Sasseville said. "But the basics are there."
A site inspection of the facility by Pan Am Games representatives has yet to take place, he said.
"There may be some infrastructure things that may need to be done in terms of filling parts of the facility," he said. "But ... we never really got into any of those discussions with the bid committee. They asked us if we would hold the event. We said 'Absolutely.' They said 'Great, we will get back to you.'"
Technical workers with the Pan Am Games and possibly the Canadian Cycling Association will be designing a trail for the four to six races that will be held at Hardwood Ski and Bike and also looking at start/finish areas and timing systems, Sasseville said.
There have been no discussions about where the infrastructure funding will come from, Sasseville said.
"I would hope some of it comes from the dollars that come through the Pan Am Games, but it's way too early to see," he said.
Forty-two nations compete in the large international event, with a potential 5,000 people viewing the mountain bike competitions and 120 people in each race, Sasseville said.
Hardwood Ski and Bike may also attract Pan Am Games racers a year prior to the 2015 games, he said.
"I think we will see the Canadian team and potential Pan Am athletes from Canada and the (United) States here the year before to get used to the terrain and get used to the trails, so they get a little bit of a home court advantage," Sasseville said.
He hopes to use the prestige of the Pan Am Games to the facility's advantage in the years prior to and following the event.
"We are certainly going to use it in our marketing," Sasseville said. "We're hoping there's going to be a legacy; that the legacy is better trails, better infrastructure."
© 2009 Osprey Media Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Illustration:
• 1. Ian Mcinroy, Sun Media
• Jane Thomson rides over obstacles during the junior women's expert race at the Canada Cup mountain bike races held recently at Hardwood Hills. The facility will host the mountain biking competition at the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Edition: Final
Length: 526 words
Idnumber: 200911090018

[Thatshowiroll]

Why not Albion Hills? They've held O-cups there and It's closer to T.O.

[HSCoach2]

Originally Posted by Thatshowiroll

Why not Albion Hills? They've held O-cups there and It's closer to T.O.

Albion might also be great, but I have no problem with Hardwood. Opportunities like this don't come up often, and I think that a facility like Hardwood, with new owners and investment and a Canada Cup track record should be the ones to get it.

They've put time, money and effort into providing us with a guaranteed venue for our sport (no politics, competing user groups, ATVs, dirt bikers etc ). I think they should get rewarded for that.

[garage monster]

I think Hardwood is the only realistic venue for the XC races. The amount of infrastructure money that would have to go into any other spot would just be too high.

This whole Pan-Am games news is just horrible for me. I mean not only will I probably have to take time off work to spectate the cycling events (the likelihood of them all being on weekends is pretty slim) but the velodrome coming to within a few minutes of my house means that I'm already eying-up track bikes.

Maybe nspace and I can talk nogears into creating a track frame. Something tells me that local sales of track bikes are going to go through the roof in the next couple years. And there's always the lucrative hipster market to consider too!

[nspace]

lol @ lucrative hipster market.

I was almost regretting spending all the cash on my track bike at the end of last year when I only got to ride it a handful of times. Those thoughts are long gone with this news