Jasper’s Cory Wallace has barely had a second to rest in the past 20 months – but how else would a professional cross country mountain biker survive on the race circuit?

Wallace placed 12th overall in the 2011 Canadian XC MTB Championships in Canmore from July 16 to 17, which brought together the best in Canadian cross country cyclists. While he would have liked to have been higher on the list of racers, Wallace says the field was a fast one to compete with – and it only takes one bad day to slide down the ranks. 

“I think I was hoping for a little more,” Wallace told the Fitzhugh while on a short stop in Jasper between competitions. “There’s a lot of fast guys in Canada.”

This year has had a bit of a slow start for Wallace, who never did have an off season. He has struggled with a few injuries but is watching his season improve. 

“The last few weeks it’s been piecing together,” he says. 

Next on the long list of competitions for Wallace is a stage race in Mongolia starting on August 11 called the Mongolia Bike Challenge (www.mongoliabikechallenge.com). The stage race is in its second year, and Wallace along with three other Canadians were invited to be some of the few North American representatives. The race is set in nine stages, and covers 1,200 kilometres and 14,000 metres of climbing through the wildlands of Mongolia. Wallace said it was mostly Europeans last year, and the organizers wanted to expand and have top athletes from all over the world compete. 

Wallace participates in both stage races and cross country races, which are two different demons all together. A stage race happens over several days, and the challenge is to pace yourself and be prepared for the entire length. There is little support besides food and water stops; the rider must carry with them what they may need, such as bike parts to change on the fly if there is a breakdown. 

These are just the challenges Wallace will contend with in Mongolia, where he will be his own support. 

“It’s out there,” Wallace says of the location. “It adds a whole new dimension to it.”

In a cross country race, the course is a set loop with a pre-determined number of laps, and the winner is the one who completes them first. During cross country races, the riders have support waiting for them to hand out snacks and water, and keep the bikes working. With all those comforts, the race can still be gruelling as each rider pushes to get to – and stay at – the top of the pack. That can mean relying a whole lot on luck of when, where and if your bike breaks down. 

“Whoever blows up last kind of wins,” Wallace joked. 

When not racing, Wallace rarely gets off his bike. He tries to get back to Jasper a few times a year to hit some of his favourite trails including the 20-mile Loop, Snake Indian Falls and Palisades Lookout. 

“I don’t get back here enough,” Wallace says, with Tekarra Mountain and a world of trails in front of him. 

It’s an expensive life to live, going from race to race, but Wallace has support from sponsors such as Kona, The North Face and local business Freewheel Cycle in Jasper. Those sponsorships help out with equipment and supplies, which Wallace says is half the battle when it comes to the professional mountain biking circuit. Race organizers – such as those involved with the Mongolian stage race – also sometimes pitch in to get elite riders to their events. 

Although Wallace has not taken a break in 20 months, the mountain bike racing season usually runs from March to September. Internationally, the season in Australia starts in November and runs to about the beginning of the North American season. 

“You can always find a bike race to go to,” Wallace says, adding that in the winter racers focus on their fitness before the season starts. During the earlier races, they tune up their skills until they reach their peak for the season. With such a jam-packed schedule and endless races to attend, it can be tough to get to one after another.

“Come the middle of the biking season, it’s race and recover,” Wallace says. 

The racer was on the West Coast before his stop in Jasper, participating in the B.C. Bike Race which took racers from Vancouver along the Sunshine Coast to Squamish and Whistler. The seven-day stage race had the riders on the road for two and a half hours every day, with a chance to enjoy each stop before hopping on the bike again the next day. Wallace calls it the most technical race in Canada that provides the national athletes with an opportunity to top the typically more fit international cyclists. 

“It gives us a chance to beat those guys,” he says. 

Wallace plans to take an actual off-season this year, after his insane 20 month “season”.

 “Your body only has so much energy,” he says. 

This weekend Wallace is looking forward to a race in Squamish, B.C. After the Mongolia Bike Challenge, Wallace will be back in the Rockies once again for the Alberta Provincial XC Championships from August 20 to 29 in Hinton, which he is not only racing in, but helping to organize. 

Wallace recently set up a new website, which has a detailed listing of his many races and a blog. Check it out at www.corywallace.com, and keep up with the Jasper local throughout the year.