Crank the Shield biking event returns after two-year pandemic hiatus

A three-day mountain biking event is returning to Sault Ste. Marie on July 29-31 after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s Crank the Shield event will be held in the Algoma Highlands and run all the way down to Sault Ste. Marie’s Hiawatha Highlands, bringing a cumulative three-day distance to 200 km.

In an interview with Sault Tourism, event organizer Sean Ruppel said the 2022 race will fall back on what made it so successful and impactful in the past, including great hospitality at Stokely Creek and Searchmont and an after-party at the Bushplane Museum on the waterfront in downtown Sault Ste. Marie.

The upgrades to the route include an optional climb to the summit of Batchawana Mountain and improved single and double-track segments in the Algoma Highlands and Searchmont portions of the race.

The race then caps off to a fast finish on 35-km of purpose-built mountain bike trails at Sault Ste. Marie’s Hiawatha Highlands on day three.

Ruppel said the city has always been welcoming and friendly to the sport, making huge huge investments in mountain biking trail infrastructure, expanding the network of single-track at Hiawatha Highlands and investing in new machine-built flow trails for riders of all levels.

“Now it’s an even cooler vibe. The city has embraced cycling and the local community of riders is growing rapidly,” he said in the interview with Sault Tourism.

With pandemic restrictions lifted, Ruppel is thrilled to be back to organizing the event, returning to his own favourite landscape of Canadian Shield mountains, wild rivers and labyrinthine trails.

He said lockdowns revealed the sense of freedom and great adventures available in Northern Ontario, adding that so many people “have had an awakening” in that time.

“After the few years away, I’m excited to get back at it. This is my opus, my dream race. I can’t wait to provide riders with an introduction to my favourite place on earth,” he said.

Registration for the 2022 event is now open on the event website.