September 14, 2016 (Quebec City, QC) – Groupe Pentathlon announces the launch of the Québec Singletrack Expérience (QSE), a recurring international mountain bike stage event. The QSE, based in downtown Quebec City, will be held from July 29 to August 5, 2017, through seven outstanding destinations in the Quebec City region: Mont Sainte-Anne, Vallée Bras-du-Nord, Shannahan and St-Raymond sectors, Sentiers du Moulin, Lac-Beauport, Valcartier Military Base, and Lac Delage. A unique experience in a unique setting!

The Expérience, with a leisure-tourism vocation, will obviously attract a few elite cyclists, but it will first and foremost be accessible to any mountain biker looking for a unique challenge, on remarkable trails, in a festive ambience. The program is made up of seven timed stages, over a course of seven days, including also seven timed descents and, as an innovation, seven timed ascents. Fifty places will be offered at an exclusive rate in a first edition presale as from Monday August 29 at noon.

“With its unique basecamp at Mérici Collégial privé, right in the heart of Quebec City, the Québec Singletrack Expérience stands out from any other stage race in the world. Our participants will be able to settle in at the downtown hub for seven days and enjoy simple logistics that can only make their experience exceptional. They can even camp out right in the middle of the city! I’ve participated in several stage races, and I can tell you the logistics is often exhausting. The athletes usually have to pack and lug their equipment around each day, and then endure long transfers between base camps. Not at the QSE! And with Quebec City as a setting, it’s a unique experience!” said François Calletta, Director General of Groupe Pentathlon.

The region of Quebec City, a jewel of the UNESCO world heritage, is THE mountain bike destination to discover. As the only permanent stage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, since the beginning 26 years ago, Quebec City offers remarkably varied professionally constructed singletracks, in a fantastic natural setting, only a stone’s throw from a magnificent walled city.

It is to a festive ambience, typical of Québec hospitality, that the “Qué-Bikers”, as the participants are dubbed, will return each evening after a thrilling day on trails designed by the local organizing committees.

Local organization committees
To build this unique experience, leave a legacy in the destinations, and optimize the program, the Groupe Pentathlon team called upon passionate local mountain bikers to develop each day of the program. Each local organizing committee have the mandate to define the trails, create activities on the sites and rally the population around the event. Several activities and surprises await the participants and spectators at each of the stages.

See the program schedule here.