Selection of the Sault was the culmination of years of work to position us as one of North America’s premier destinations for mountain biking<\/p>\n
This week Cycling Canada, the country’s\u00a0national governing body for cycling,\u00a0announced that Sault Ste. Marie had been selected to host the 2026 Canadian XCM\u00a0MTB Championships.<\/p>\n
XCM MTB stands for cross-country marathon mountain biking.<\/p>\n
Elite athletes from across Canada will descent on Hiawatha Highlands on Labour Day weekend to race a 100-km\u00a0course through through boreal forests of northern Ontario.<\/p>\n
Racers in the U17, junior\u00a0and master categories will compete on a 65-km\u00a0course.<\/p>\n
The selection of a bid from Sault Cycling Club and Tourism Sault Ste. Marie to host the event was the culmination of years of work to position the Sault as one of North America’s premier destinations for mountain biking.<\/p>\n
More than $3.7 million has been spent on the local trail system since 2020, adding 30 km of new singletrack.<\/p>\n
We now boast more than 65 km\u00a0of singletrack trails with additional development underway.<\/p>\n
The Sault’s bid consisted of a lavishly illustrated 38-page book extolling the Hiawatha trails.<\/p>\n
“Sault Ste. Marie is uniquely positioned to host this prestigious event, offering world-class trail infrastructure, a passionate cycling community\u00a0and a welcoming atmosphere for athletes, spectators\u00a0and visitors alike,” the document quoted Scott Elgie, president of the Kinsmen Club of Sault Ste. Marie.<\/p>\n
“The Hiawatha Highlands … provides an exceptional natural setting that showcases the rugged beauty and technical terrain ideal for a national-level XCM competition,” Elgie said.<\/p>\n
“The backbone of the course will be the newly developed Farmer Lake trail, as well as the Crystal Creek trail system,” Travis Anderson from Tourism Sault Ste. Marie told SooToday.<\/p>\n
“In my opinion, our trail network is the perfect fit for the XCM Nationals. The Farmer Lake Trail takes riders into the backcountry of the Canadian Shield, dotted with inland lakes and expansive views atop some of the highest peaks in the Hiawatha Highlands.<\/p>\n
“The trail features leg-burning climbs, long technical descents, and rock slabs. On the Crystal Creek trail system, they\u2019ll be exposed to modern flow trails, featuring fast and fun single track with jumps, rollers, and berms scattered throughout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The course has something for everyone. \u00a0The perfect mix of challenging and fun, while showcasing the natural beauty of Sault Ste. Marie,” Anderson said.<\/p>\n
The championship event will take place Sept. 5 and 6, 2026.<\/p>\n
One key element in Sault Ste. Marie’s bid package was this long list of\u00a0sports events hosted here:<\/p>\n
Biking events<\/p>\n
\n\tSalty Marie Trail Fest – 2023, 2024, 2025
\n\tSkeeter Slam (OCup MTB Series) – 2024, 2025
\n\tFrozen Toe Fat Bike Race – 2025
\n\tCrank the Shield – 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024
\n\t8 Hours of Epic Superior Singletrack – 2025
<\/p>\n
2025<\/p>\n
\n\tInternational Karate Daigaku Canadian Nationals
\n\tCanadian Masters Curling Championships
\n\tOUA Wrestling Championships
\n\tRingette \u2018A\u2019 Provincial Championships
\n\tOntario Baseball Championship
\n\tU16 Alpine Ontario Championships
\n\tHenderson Metal Fall Classic (International Curling)
<\/p>\n
2024<\/p>\n
\n\tOUA Wrestling Championships
\n\tCross Country Ontario Youth Championship
\n\tNortheast Regional Ringette Tournament
\n\tOCAA Curling Championships
\n\tU18AAA Central Region Hockey Championships
\n\tOntario Youth Nordic Ski Championships
\n\tOntario Baseball Championships
\n\tHenderson Metal Fall Classic (International Curling)
<\/p>\n
2023<\/p>\n
\n\tWe the North Pickleball Ontario Championship Series
\n\tOntario Baseball Championships
\n\tCanadian Youth Bowling Championships
\n\tU15AAA All Ontario Hockey Championships
\n\tHenderson Metal Fall Classic (International Curling)
<\/p>\n
2022<\/p>\n
\n\tOntario U15 Basketball Championships
\n\tOntario Youth Nordic Ski Championships
<\/p>\n
2021<\/p>\n
\n\tEverest Canadian Senior Curling Championships
<\/p>\n
2020<\/p>\n
\n\tOntario U17 Basketball Championships
<\/p>\n
2019<\/p>\n
\n\tSpecial Olympics Ontario Winter Games
\n\tNortheast Regional Ringette Tournament
<\/p>\n
2017<\/p>\n
\n\tOFSAA AA\u2019 Boys Basketball
<\/p>\n
2016<\/p>\n
\n\tU17 World Hockey Challenge
\n\tOFSAA A\u2019 Boys Basketball Championship
<\/p>\n
2015<\/p>\n
\n\tOFSAA A\u2019 Girls Basketball Championship
<\/p>\n
2014<\/p>\n
\n\tU12 Provincial Ringette Championship
\n\tOntario Scotties \/ U12 Provincials
\n\tU12 Provincial Ringette Championships
\n\tAtom AA OHF Championships
<\/p>\n
2013<\/p>\n
\n\tNational TELUS Cup
\n\tOBA Girls Championship
<\/p>\n
2012<\/p>\n
\n\tOBA Girls Championships
\n\tAAA Midget Regional TELUS Cup
\n\tCARHA Hockey World Cup
\n\tNortheast Regional Ringette Tournament
<\/p>\n
2011<\/p>\n
\n\tGrey Power World Cup of Curling
\n\tNortheast Regional Ringette Tournament
\n\tInternational Hap Ki Do Canadian Open
<\/p>\n
2010<\/p>\n
\n\tScotties Tournament of Hearts
<\/p>\n
2008<\/p>\n
\n\tRingette World Cup Championships
<\/p>\n
2000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Selection of the Sault was the culmination of years of work to position us as one of North…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,139076,82],"class_list":["post-311454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-hiawatha-highlandsmountain-bikingtravis-anderson2026-canadian-xcm-championships","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}