August 03, 2017 (Beaupré, Que.) – From August 4-6, Mont-Sainte-Anne will host for the 27th time in its history the UCI Mountain bike World Cup downhill and cross-country races at the Vélirium. Québec City citizens and visitors will once again have the opportunity to see the top cyclists of these disciplines in action, athletes from all over the globe.
Yana Belomoina (Ukr) CST Sandd American Eagle, Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate, Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal/Vallnord and Canada’s Raphael Gagne (Cannondale-3Rox Racing) were on hand the official press conference launch of Velirium 2017 and took questions from the journalists on hand as well.
As part of the 15th edition of the Vélirium presented by Vidéotron and the 27th UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Mont-Sainte-Anne, event organizer Gestev is excited to announce the addition of the prestigious GAAP Enduro race to the festival lineup! “Enduro racing is one of today’s hottest disciplines in mountain bike racing and we’re stoked to be adding this event to our Vélirium race calendar,” said Patrice Drouin, President of Gestev. “Especially as we’ll be working with some of the top technical specialists in the discipline who brought the event to light a few years ago right here at Mont-Sainte-Anne.”
The event will see around a hundred diehard riders take to the trails for a challenging course combining timed downhill sections and untimed uphill and transfer stages with an individual start. “The race is made up a series of special stages and the winner is the rider with the best combined time over all the stages,” explained Gabriel Drouin, one half of the event’s founding duo. “Enduro is a discipline that demands superb technique to go fast on the downhill sections and incredible fitness to ace the transfer stages and uphill sections,” added Patrice Dorion, the other half of the founding duo. “Four years ago, our number one goal was to bring together avid mountain bikers from all over Quebec for a fun, accessible event in a spirit of openness and healthy competition. Joining forces with Vélirium, we can say it’s mission accomplished on all fronts, since mountain biking and fun are the keywords for this long weekend of festivities!”
The GAAP Enduro will feature 4 or 5 special stages (depending on rider category), that are timed and cumulated to give each rider an overall time. Riders start each stage of the race individually with predetermined start times. Transfer times are then allocated between each special for riders to make their way to the next stage. Cumulative times for the special stages will be available after the race and used to determine the winners in each category. The course can feature up to 80% downhill and 20% uphill sections.
An opportunity to (re)discover the mountain
This is an incredible occasion to meet high-level athletes, as well as to enjoy the trails of Mont-Sainte-Anne or to rediscover the mountain in a new light. “Every year, visitors are astonished to be so close to the action. I personally invite people to come and enjoy this unique event, and thereby to practice an outdoor and physical activity. Having our facilities encourage and enable the population to be active and maintain a healthy lifesyle is part of our mission at Mont-Sainte-Anne“, mentions Daniel Rochon, Vice President and Director at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Rent a Bike
The athletes will most surely inspire the visitors, and the competitions will make them want to ride. It’s a perfect time to try it out. A day mountain biking requires proper equipment and the Sports Alpins boutique and rental shop, located directly at the base of the mountain, offers clothing, accessories, snacks, sandwiches and refreshments, as well as Scott bikes rentals for downhill and cross-country. All rentals include the access to trails (and to lift for downhill). For more information or to rent, call 418.827.4561.
True to tradition, Vélirium presented by Vidéotron has some jam-packed party nights in store for the 27th annual Mountain Bike World Cup at Mont-Sainte-Anne this August 4–6! Sporting action and musical entertainment go hand in hand at Vélirium, and this year’s no exception. We’re teaming up with Budweiser to bring festivalgoers another exciting and diverse lineup of shows, completely free of charge as always!
With an eclectic mix of headline acts and emerging musicians on the bill and an array of musical styles as varied as rock, electro, indie pop and world beat, these are some sensational soirées festivalgoers won’t want to miss. The Budweiser Lounge is right at the heart of the action at the foot of Mont-Sainte-Anne, and it’s the place to be for Vélirium festivalgoers wanting to party on into the night after a day of watching the thrills and spills on the mountain!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
The Respectables – Onstage at 11:00 p.m. The Respectables are an iconic Quebec band famous for their unique sound, incisive lyrics and explosive energy. With more than 10 albums, some 25 hit singles and nearly 25 years of rock and roll under their belt, the group have many of Quebec’s greatest rock hits to their credit. Not only have they earned a number of accolades at the Felix, ADISQ and SOCAN awards, they have toured extensively at home and abroad. A major highlight for the band was opening for legendary rockers The Rolling Stones at the Bell Centre in 2003. Don’t miss your chance to see them at Mont-Sainte-Anne—you’ll be impressed!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5
Foreign Diplomats – Onstage at 8:00 p.m. Foreign Diplomats are an indie pop band from the Laurentians who released their debut EP in 2013 on the Indica label. It didn’t take long for the group to start turning heads and performing onstage at the Montreal international Jazz Festival, opening for the likes of Alex Nevsky, Phantogram, Half Moon Run and Violent Femmes. Foreign Diplomats have racked up show after show, wowing audiences in Europe as well as at home in Canada with their extraordinary energy. The future is bright for this young quintet who already boast some impressive stage experience. They live by the mantra “We make music, we want to dance, and we want to make you dance, crack, boom, pow!”
We Are Wolves – Onstage at 10:15 p.m. We Are Wolves are a Montreal trio blurring the lines between electro, drawing inspiration from their visual arts background. The Montreal trio tour tirelessly, playing at everything from the smallest venues to international festivals as huge as SXSW (Austin), Virgin V Festival (Toronto), The Great Escape (UK), CMJ (New York), Osheaga (Montreal), the LA Weekly Detour Festival (Los Angeles), Les Eurockéennes (France) and Dour Festival (Belgium). Sharing the stage with groups like Gorillaz, Muse, Indochine and Bloc Party brought the group into the music media spotlight, attracting features in everything from Rolling Stone Magazine to Pitchfork. This is one musical experience you won’t want to miss!
King Abid – Onstage at midnight King Abid’s dancehall reggae blends rhythms, cultures and languages, blurring physical and artistic boundaries in true 21st century style. Crowned one of Radio Canada’s four musical revelations for 2017, King Abid has attracted an entourage of musicians as diverse as Ghislain Poirier, Eman (Alaclair Ensemble), Karim Ouellet and Boogat, each adding their own flavour to create a world-music soundscape like nothing you’ve ever heard. You’ll be smiling from ear to ear, bopping your head and shaking your hips for sure!
SUNDAY, AUGUST 6
Caravane – Onstage at 10:30 p.m. Caravane are coming back to the Mountain Bike World Cup stage for a second time—and it’s no coincidence! Riding high on the success of their debut album Chien Noir (2014) which scooped an array of awards and nominations—including one at the ADISQ gala for best rock album of the year, the group hailing from the Côte-de-Beaupré area near Mont-Sainte-Anne followed up with a second hard-hitting opus in 2016, Fuego. There’s one heck of a show in store as they rock out Mont-Sainte-Anne with their aggressive sound and intoxicating riffs, especially as band members Raphael Potvin (bass) and Dominique Pelletier (guitar and vocals) will be wrapping things up with a Funk & Roll DJ set before the party cranks up a notch.
Tommy Kruise – Onstage at 12:30 a.m. Hip-hop producer Tommy Kruise hails from the local Côte-de-Beaupré area and has called Montreal home since 2010. Famous for his trap mixtapes, his work with international artists and his myriad Soundcloud creations, he’s now sealed a deal with record label Bromance Records and is setting his sights high with the launch of his upcoming official debut album. This is one beatmaker to watch, for real!