No video tonight, sorry guys. Long travel day. I'm up in Baie Saint Paul, Quebec, Canada right now for round number one of the Canada Cup series. For those who are not familiar with the Canada Cup, it is their national mountain bike series. So, (US Cup - US) + Canada = Canada Cup. Got it?

Last year, Geoff Kabush won the NMBS series overall for the third year in a row. Before him, names like Roland, Ryder, Seamus, and Shep occupied the number one spot in the rankings. Canada's mountain bike elite have been making the trip South for years to compete with the higher levels of competition in the U.S., and for years, have fared pretty well. The bigger fields and greater media coverage keeps Canada's top riders on the road nearly year round if they want to make it on the biggest stage. I've never understood why they should have to come to US and we never come to THEM. With a full national series much like our own (complete with UCI points and prize money) why is it you never see our top riders toeing the line North of the border? Why does the cycling media have people at Fontana and not Alberta? I guess there's a bit of a chicken/egg situation with the Canada Cup. Top US riders wont come until there is good media coverage of the event and media wont make the trip if the top riders are absent...

Financially speaking, there's not much difference in flying to California vs. flying to Quebec. The races pay money, the courses are awesome, the weather is ideal for MTB racing... I'll take 61 and sunny in British Columbia over 109 in Santa Ynez, CA any day (So would Georgia Gould, I bet.)

So this weekend we'll be here on-site to bring you full coverage of the race along with some general coverage the the mountain bike racing scene in Canada. I'm pretty interested to hear their impressions about US racing vs Canadian racing and how we can do more to see them merge. The videos/ photos/ updates will kick off tomorrow and keep rolling all weekend. Look for a proper preview video sometime early tomorrow along with a look at the course and all the pre-race interviews.

You can take a look at confirmed riders, here.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend and as always, be sure to come here after and share your story!

(Coverage Page for the race is here)

photos by Trailwatch