The best mountain bikers in the world are crawling over Mont Ste. Anne, near Quebec City, as they prepare for this weekend's Velirium '09.
Three major events for the Nissan UCI World Cup will take place: the Downhill, the 4-cross and the Cross-Country
Spectators get the best view at the downhill.
"It's not an asphalt track you know, there's a lot of wood, trees, rocks and sometimes they go as fast as 80 km per hour," said organizer Chantale Lachance. "You don't even need to like mountain bikes to appreciate that show."
It's even better in the rain.
"All the courses are very slippery so you get to see lots of falling, lots of mud."
Women's Downhill champion Claire Buchar says the sport is not necessarily dangerous, but getting to the top of her sport wasn't easy.
"I've always had something go wrong like a flat tire, double flat, separated shoulder, broken thumb," said Buchar. "I've always had something happen. This year I finally pulled it off! I'm happy about that."
While this year's event is significant, next year's will be even more important, when Mont Ste. Anne will play host to the World Championships.
