The Endless Stoke of Quebec

from Mountain Life – Blue Mountains - Fall 2024

The Nature of Trails

Le Massif and Mont-Saint-Anne deliver epic mountain bike vibes words and photos :: Colin Field

Thousands are gathered at the bottom of Mont-Sainte-Anne’s legendary downhill track for the final round of the UCI World Cup as Finn Iles finishes what was almost the run of a lifetime. At each timing split he was faster than the previous leader—by 2.9 seconds, then 3.8 seconds, then 4 seconds. Then, as he flew through the rocky, rooty trail near the bottom of the track, his front tire slid out on the wet rock and he rolled off his bike, dashing all hopes of a top-three result. He got up quickly and was uninjured, but he lost too much time to podium.

After his crash, Finn continued down the track, rounding the final bend as the crowd erupted in a cacophony of chainless chainsaws, noisemakers, horns and riotous cheering. He flew over the last jump, throwing his hands behind him in a suicide no-hander that again garnered wild applause. Then, as he skidded into the finishing area, he removed his goggles and threw them into the heaving mass of humanity. Nonchalantly, my wife shot up her hand and caught them in an instant. It’s a moment I’ll never forget, one that sealed this trip as one of our family’s best.

We had flown to Quebec City a couple days earlier to check out the riding in La Belle Province. Our first stop was Le Massif de Charlevoix; we were not disappointed. Touted as the highest vertical east of the Rockies, Le Massif is a destination I’ve wanted to visit for decades, ever since I first saw a ski image from the resort. Rising straight out of the Saint Lawrence River, the view from this place is unreal. And since 2021 they’ve been working to become a mountain biking destination as well as a ski stop. They’ve made a ton of progress in a few short years.

Owned by Daniel Gauthier, the guy who co-founded Cirque Du Soleil, Le Massif is a scant 80 minutes from the Quebec City airport. The vision here is simple: Provide the best experience possible without turning it into a Disneyland-type shopping mall. And they’re doing exactly that.

After grabbing rental bikes and meeting the ski and bike school director Clovis LettreRacine, we hit a mix of green and blue trails including Easy Rider, Funky Funghi, 6Pack and Roulé Suisse. The berms and rolling jumps flowed through the colours of fall and each time we popped out of the woods we were blasted with scenic views of the mighty Saint Lawrence. Massive container ships and cruise liners sailed up and down the waterway. And if we drove an hour further east, Clovis said, the water gets saltier and the chance of seeing whales increases.

We managed to get one more lap with Clovis before heading to an incredible dinner at Camp Boule overlooking the mountain and the fleuve below. We scarfed down a charcuterie board brimming with locally produced meats and cheeses before getting into the main course. Dessert was mandatory, and we shared slices of apple and walnut cakes as well as thick chocolate cream. Beyond sated, we stayed overnight at Les Caches de la Grande Pointe at the bottom of Le Massif. Fall is the time to visit this low-key spot with rugged, natural beauty. It feels like real wilderness here.

On our second day we made the nottoo-difficult uphill ride to the top of the Bus Jaune trail then rode a mind-blowing 7 kilometres of downhill on Histoire Sans Fin. The blue-level run is family-friendly and absolutely a rollercoaster of good times and great scenery. We rode the same blues and greens of the previous day, enjoying the speed as we got to know the trails and the jumps along the route. We dipped into little sections of black diamond trails like Whippette and Tite Chèvre and fell in love with the trail system even more. We discussed what it would be like to live here. Could we just pick up and move?

On our second night we stayed in BaieSaint-Paul, 20 km north of Le Massif where the smell of the sea wafts in off the river. We stayed right on the water at Domaine Belle Plage and had dinner at Le Bercail, where most of the fruits, veggies and herbs come from their 5,000 m2 garden. Again we lingered over our three course meal, enjoying the atmosphere and decadent servings. Quebec sure does food right.

Baie-Saint-Paul is the kind of town we wanted to spend a lot of time in, but we couldn’t; we needed to get to Mont-SainteAnne for the World Cup.

Mont-Sainte-Anne has hosted the Union Cycliste International (UCI) Mountain Bike

World Cup circuit since 1998. It’s a legendary stop on the tour for both the cross country and downhill races. In 2023 and 2024 the finals of the entire tour happened in MontSainte-Anne. If you’re Canadian and into mountain biking, this is an absolute must-visit event. Every year the organizers, along with around 500 volunteers and tens of thousands of visitors, greet the UCI World Cup athletes and their teams with unbridled enthusiasm.

The final person to descend the UCI World Cup track at Mont-Sainte-Anne on race day is the rider with the fastest lap during semi-finals; this year that rider was the young Canadian phenom Jackson Goldstone. As he pedaled, tucked, jumped, turned and flew down the grueling terrain, it was obvious he was something special.

At the first timing split he was in the green, .152 of a second faster than the current leader. The crowd simmered with nervous excitement. At the second split, he increased his lead; he was 2.258 faster than anyone that day. The crowd’s simmering grew stronger. At split three he was fastest again, this time an unbelievable 3.567 faster than any other rider. The chainsaws roared. And as Goldstone passed the fourth timing split, the crowd erupted—he was 3.895 seconds faster.

He pushed over the finish line and the jumbotron revealed what everyone already knew: He’d won. By more than 4.3 seconds. The over-rowdy crowd swarmed Goldstone, pushing past the barricades. The next ten minutes were a blur of chaos filled with deafening noisemakers, yelling and jubilant celebration as Goldstone realized he’d won the race.

It was another moment of mountain bike history and one that I can’t believe I witnessed. And I can’t believe that none of my riding friends were here. As far as mountain biking is concerned, this is the place to be. It’s one of the coolest mountain bike events in the world and it’s less than 10 hours away. Seriously. This is the rowdiest, most incredible sporting event I’ve ever been to and the downhill riders are animals. Watching the crowd lose control is the best. For sure one of the raddest things I’ve ever seen.

The day after the downhill World Cup we got to ride the trails at Mont-SainteAnne. The trail system is massive. With enduro style trails, cross-country runs and pure downhill tracks, we chose the downhill tracks and stuck to the blues and greens. And though our legs and arms were tired from multiple days at Le Massif, we had an incredible few runs in the rain.

It was here I saw my son becoming a better rider than me. A braver rider anyway. It was a bittersweet moment. As we charged cautiously down La Baptême, I watched him jumping over sets of doubles on his first time ever riding the track. I was probably over-cautious, but watching him charge confidently and with speed into corners and over jumps, I knew I’d done a good job at parenting. At least as far as my priorities are concerned.

As we got ready to leave Mont-SainteAnne, a qualifying round of the Pump Track World Championships started up on the Velosolutions track that’s right beside the gondola liftline. Velosolutions build the ultimate pumptracks, and the fact that there’s one right at the resort is unbelievable. We paused to watch, imagining what it would be like having a local hill that not only embraced riding, but supported its growth.

Interested in building a strong local mountain bike community? The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) is hosting a summit this November in Peterborough. Find details on p. 73