Planning the Perfect Singletrack 6 Route — SingleTrack 6: Ride the West

TransRockies Race Series President and Chief Cycling Officer, Aaron McConnell takes us behind the scenes

Over the course of 5 editions of Singletrack 6, we’ve visited more than 14 host communities and covered thousands of kilometers of singletrack. Each year is a new adventure! Planning a new route each and every year is no easy task—in fact, most other stage races don’t even try. But luckily, our home turf in British Columbia and Alberta has a seemingly endless number of trails to choose from.

Each year, we make it our mission to show the 300 riders who trust us with their precious time, the best trails Western Canada has to offer. Luckily, we’re spoiled for choice, and we’re able to pick and choose from literally thousands of kilometres of singletrack.

Route planning is a process we take very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that TransRockies Race Series President and Chief Cycling Officer, Aaron McConnell rides each one himself. And, with the help of local riders, puts together six days’ worth of spectacular singletrack that’s challenging, fun and unique.

Long before riders make it to the start line, route criteria need to be decided, host communities chosen and local knowledge considered. Not to mention, each route needs to be field-tested—we know, it’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it!

So how does this all come together? Let’s go behind the scenes with Aaron and find out!

What makes a great stage race route?

Before any route location planning takes place, a set of route criteria need to be chosen. Unlike all the planning that follows, this doesn’t change from year-to-year and serves to keep many aspects of the different routes consistent over time. According to Aaron, these benchmarks fall into two main categories: fun factor and difficulty.

Route difficulty guidelines hinge mainly on two things: elevation gain and distance. For Aaron, deciding how these two factors come together is a balancing act, and with such a wide range of riders attending Singletrack 6, it’s important to get it right!

“We like to use the tagline: “difficult but doable”, and that’s the balance that we try to find,” says Aaron, “We want our events to challenge the top pro’s—so that it’s not an all-out sprint—but also be doable enough that a weekend warrior can finish and still have time for a shower and nap before dinner!”.

To achieve that balance, Aaron targets winning stage times of between 1 hr 45min and 2hr 30min by weighing aspects of the terrain that will either slow riders down, or speed them up: distance, elevation gain and technical difficulty.

“For me, elevation gain is the primary criteria,” notes Aaron, “We target between 1000 and 1500m of climbing per stage. And we’ll usually end up with a stage that is between 27km and 50km long. Depending on how technical the riding is, we might add more distance and lower the elevation. For example, our longest stages have been in the CBT/Moonrakers network in Golden, where stages can be 55km, or longer because the trails are fast and smooth.”

Timing—and descending—is everything!

Keeping route difficulty consistent is important, but Aaron knows he can’t ignore the fun-factor! It’s central to making Singletrack 6 such a memorable experience for participants. This is where the event’s unique timed descents come into play. They’ve been a part of every Singletrack 6 stage since the event launched in 2014, and have been well-received by riders as a way to spice things up. And, like route difficulty, Aaron uses certain criteria to keep them consistent.

In their planning, Aaron looks at four important factors: difficulty should be rated as blue or black, they should be sustained descents of at least 200-300m, occur in the second half of the stage—as the riders are more spread out by that point—and they should contain minimal or no climbing.

The host(s) with the most!

With targets for stage finishing times, lengths, and elevation gain in mind, Aaron can now start honing in on the routes themselves. And that begins with selecting host communities. This is where the route planning really starts, and it begins as early as two to three years out from the event. That time frame allows for routes to be thoroughly planned and tested, kinks worked out and permits obtained.

Host communities, for any given year, are chosen from what Aaron calls the Singletrack 6 “canvas”. It’s an area that ranges, roughly, from the Alberta Rockies west to the Okanagan, and from the TransCanada Highway south to the United States border. It’s an enormous area, and home to some of the best mountain biking in the world.

“We start narrowing things down by looking at the region that we want to explore each year”, explains Aaron, “Then we look at all the eligible communities with great mountain biking trails, and also, which communities have hotel accommodations and other amenities. We also prioritize the communities that are most supportive of the events. From there we create a shortlist to figure out how to group the stages.”

Each community needs to have a large enough trail network to support at least one to two stages. And a potential host-community is generally considered one of two things: a town or a bike park/resort. In an effort to minimize travel times between them, Aaron will choose communities that naturally group together. For example, in 2021, Singletrack 6 will take place in the South Kootenays, along the Crowsnest Highway #3 in the communities of Fernie, Kimberley and Rossland.

Once the communities have been chosen, it’s time to get to know the area, and that starts with the riders who live there. If Aaron doesn’t already know any local riders, he’ll start reaching out to area tourism offices and cycling clubs for help.

The local connection

Local knowledge is the best knowledge. And it goes without saying that locals will know, better than anyone, how to squeeze every last drop of fun out of their home trails. And they’re Aaron’s first call once route pre-planning begins.

“Obviously, locals know the trails best!” admits Aaron, “They know how they connect to each other best, which direction they flow best, and other trail-specific issues that are important parts of route planning.”

A great example of one of these local riders is Singletrack 6 Ambassador Travis Hauck. Travis lives in Nelson, BC and was instrumental in the stage planning when it was a Singletrack 6 host communtiy in 2017.

In 2021, Singletrack 6 will be back in the area—visiting Rossland—and this time Aaron enlisted the help of even more local knowledge. Knowledge that proved to be instrumental in the planning process.

“For the 2021 route, local Rossland rider David Ford introduced me to a new trail called Stardust, which didn’t exist when we ran the event there in 2017,” says Aaron, “This new trail was instrumental in our planning because, based on rider feedback we received when we visited Rossland in 2017, there were some things that we needed to change. That year we used some trails in the opposite direction than they would normally be ridden, creating some braking bumps. Using Stardust allowed us to take out some of the more technical sections from 2017 and ride everything in the intended direction”.

In communities with vast trail networks, local riders help narrow route options down to those that will give Singletrack 6 participants the best bang for their buck. But at this point, it’s still all theoretical, and Aaron knows that theory can only take him so far.

Where the rubber hits the loam

Now it’s time to get down to business and start hammering out the details. And that means hitting the trails with local riders to make sure they meet the difficulty and fun factor standards Aaron has set for Singletrack 6. By riding the trail himself, Aaron is able to keep route difficulty and fun-factor consistent from year to year.

“By riding all the routes, I can compare different trails. Sometimes I’ve ridden a section of trail and realized that it was too difficult to be fun, even for expert riders. In other cases, I’ve been concerned with a section of trail being too difficult, but after riding it, realized that it was a short section that was justified given the overall fun factor added to the stage.”

Because route planning isn’t an exact science, It’s important to consider a variety of perspectives. And so, Aaron has started enlisting the help of some new assistants.

“Lately, I’ve been riding more routes with my teenage daughters,” says Aaron, “They are getting pretty good at technical riding, but they help give a new and different perspective that I don’t necessarily get if I only ride with very experienced locals.”

Logistical considerations

Making sure Singletrack 6 offers great riding is job number one for Aaron, but there are logistical considerations as well. For example, the location of the start-finish area is critical. And that can have an effect on where and how a route will start on any given stage.

“We need a fair bit of space for the start-finish chute and all the services, as well as parking,” explains Aaron, “When possible we’ll try to locate them in a town centre or Plaza as those tend to make for a fun, festive atmosphere for participants, and they’re great for drawing spectators!”

And with a field of 300, a start-finish area close to a road climb can be beneficial. It helps to spread the riders out before they start to funnel into the singletrack.

“The bigger the field, the more difficult it is to spread the field out, or the more congestion you will have in the early singletrack,” notes Aaron, “We’ve found 300 to be a good number of riders, so there’s a feeling of a big event, but not so many that you can’t get away from traffic on the singletrack”.

Now, with a tentative design for the route in mind, it’s time for the last, and sometimes most difficult, step in the planning process.

That’s the reaction we were looking for!

Things don’t always go according to plan

Aaron now turns to permitting.

“We generally need to start the permitting process close to a year out, so we need to have our routes mostly figured out the summer before the event,” he says.

Most sanctioned trails are fair game, but according to Aaron, each area has its own unique issues that can sometimes put a damper on his ideal route.

“Some communities restrict racing during certain times of the year due to trails typically being too dry or too wet at that time,” says Aaron, “Sometimes there are specific wildlife concerns in certain areas. Other trails may just be sensitive to cumulative impact and the community doesn’t wish to see a race on them. Sometimes community trails include sections on private land with certain restrictions.”

Securing permits is the last hurdle in the route planning process, and it can be a lengthy procedure. But with Aaron’s extensive experience and dedication to searching out the best singletrack, he’s usually able to juggle any concerns that come up.

A labour of love...

Planning a whole new adventure every year is no easy task. But for Aaron, the journey is well worth the effort. It’s a great privilege to have access to the multitude of host-communities, singletrack and local riders that make up the Singletrack 6 “canvas”. And Aaron has made it his mission to share this special place with the world—one route at a time!

We want to hear from you!

What aspects of a stage race route are most important to you? Terrain, tech, length, elevation gain, views, the start/finish area? Or is it something else?

Let us know in the comments section below.