Photo Story: Tour De Gnar 2023

In the world of Mountain biking there are a few stand out competitions, there's nothing quite like the Tour de Gnar. Homegrown in British Columbia, ITS BACK! for its 3rd year.

A jaw dropping, heart-racing event that pushes the boundaries of what's possible on two wheels. The vision of Yoann Barrelli, gather a crew of top tier athletes from around the globe and showcase the best and most high level riding with the backdrop of the Coast Mountains, BC. This year the Tour de Gnar promised to be bigger and gnarlier than ever before, drawing in 30 riders to tackle the most challenging and breathtaking features the Sea to Sky has to offer. Like Cami Nogueira explained:


A 6am meet up in Squamish was on the agenda on a brisk July 26th. Trucks, vans, and cars racks filled to the brim with bikes rolled into the car park, riders ready to receive heavy doses of coffee, waivers and that Yoann/ Nate Stoke!

After an introduction, an agenda and firing up of the riders! we set out to the first feature of the day... A warmup? maybe for some athletes there that day. In-N-Out Burger!


SQUAMISH
The first features of the day revolved around the Alice lake area in Squamish, it may not come as a surprise that there is probably enough GNAR in this singular location to last most riders a lifetime. The famous giant slab was particularly wet and greasy on this early morning ride, still... that grippy granite stayed true to reputation and the riders smashed it! 3 lines down, Big compressions, endless skids but an absolute ideal scene and exactly how everybody wished to have started the day. The crowds had already started to grow, spectators coming to bear witness to absolute wizardry on 2 wheels, the trailsides were packed!




Next it was the Highway to Hell/ Hueso drops. Tucked away in the moody fogged up forests it was time for riders to snipe some absolute sends. The features chosen are not just an act of confidence, these landings some barely longer than the bikes themselves require bike control and awareness only achieved with years of compounding skill. Crowds lined the take offs and landings for an insane display, Multiple riders on multiple features doing what they do best. The crew nailed it!


"Gouranga" trail provided the final selections of the Squamish Zone. 3 Features all rolled into a single descent of Craziness. We accurately measured that the Highest feature, "The surgeon" from Drop to landing was approximately 2.75 Yoann Barrelli's high to give context. Lewis Buchananon took to the stage as the first rider to drop and sniped it, Infectious confidence. A few crashes happened, The Gouranga hip seemingly being the make or break feature so far in Squamish. The riders were pumped at this point, I mean... literally how can you not be. With a few crashes and dirt eaten unintentionally, some decided to take a breather, step back and watch. The team spirit really showed in this section and the calculated approach needed to last the day. Mark Matthews stated it perfectly:






WHISTLER
Against the backdrop of Whistler's majestic mountains, here we were! The Fabled icon of Canadian MTBing. The first feature some locals specials, A double Drop with a zero bail runout into a boulder field, absolutely no room for error, masterminded by Aven Elsberg & Jake Polito. Credit to the team and crowd at this point as the terrain had become so jagged and steep they had to be on the features with the riders! didn't sign up for this!


Aven Dropped in first and showed the guys and girls just how to ride it with style, everybody followed suit and what could have easily been a tangle of rocks and rims was avoided with class.



A newly imagined, fresh line next. A Barelli concept if you will... "The line behind my place". Incredible, gives absolutely no expectations of just how janky and technical this tire popping line is. A balancing act, insane steepness and a runout through some goalpost trees whilst a full circle of shouting friends and fans encase you in wooded section behind Yoann's house. This is the definition of homegrown madness.


After a few tire changes, rim checks and Ryan Rodriquez heroically saving Nicole Kennedy from riding a feature with no bike. The racks were loaded and off the Tour went, North of town.



NORTH OF TOWN/ RUTHERFORD
A celebration of Freeride, a way to remember all the pioneers of MTBing. These sections and locations feel different, Extremely Raw and intimidating. One move, one shot. Max Grayston Opened up the feature, cleanly showcasing how to make a monumental drop 25ft+ from a cliff onto wooden logs and chicken wire look like riding on the valley trail. Clack! Boom! Slam! every rider was stomping it, avoiding the tree and landing in the sweet spot until Ray Fournier snaps the landing! without hesitation Yoann appears with a 10ft Long plank he found and the Crew set to work on repairs. With a final heavy blow from a big rock and Patrik Chomists gym sessions not going to waste, the session is back on! With the sun starting to drop in the sky the aim remains on focus with only a couple features left.



Deadfall (The riders favourite) Smooth, great runout and absolutely stunning! Photographing the deadfall drop during the golden hours was an absolute dream come true. Patrik Chomist performing the biggest Table, Jack Pelland styling out the most impressive T-bog high in the sky and Max Grayston/ Alex Holowko Throwing down Suicide no handers. The stoke was high for sure! Nicole Kennedy sent it to the moon and completed the feature for the first time ever, to be greeted and praised by everyone at the landing. it was a special moment and by far the loudest Cheer of the entire day, the perfect playground for progression and the best support around!






The FINAL FEATURE, presented brand new for the day. The Rutherford Spine. A true embellishment of the Freerider state of mind, seeing, planning and turning an idea to a reality to be ridden. A keystone of what the Tour de Gnar stands for Fun, Achievement and Creativity. Hundreds of people (2000+ if you ask Nate or max) turned out to witness what would be the grand finale of the 2023 Tour, seriously though there was a huge crowd and the whole community turned out and celebrated! A stadium of boulders, piled high on top of each other, unridable if not for the work and vision of the team. Riders dropped in one after the other, a skinny exposed section, onto a downsloping boulder and a spicy drop with a slight turn involved. 11.5 hours after the Early start in Squamish, absolute respect to the riders for being able to continue their focus and meet the physical demands, just incredible. Unfortunately Felipe Barberis had a heavy fall, needing Medical attention and as a result of the fatigue the riders were experiencing/ injury of a friend, the event was stopped early to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the participants and to reduce any injury caused from tiredness/ lack of focus.




Thankyou to everybody who helped make the event an overwhelming success by either helping, participating or supporting this movement. The crowds that turned out were fantastic and the Athletes, we have the upmost respect for you pushing yourselves to your limits, your inspirations for us all. Till next Year!


We Currently have an ongoing and Active fundraiser for Aven Elsberg a Local talented rider who unfortunately suffered A spinal cord injury 1 week after participating in the "Tour de Gnar" event. Please Consider Donating Below and partaking in the Photo Auction

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USA & INT :https://www.gofundme.com/f/aven-elsberg-rehab-and-equipment
CANADA:https://www.gofundme.com/f/aven-elsberg-rehab-care-and-equipment-cdn
PHOTO AUCTION:https://app.galabid.com/avenelsbergphoto/items/edad60be-1aa9-40db-b15b-e982027ebf94


“We acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Squamish Nation. We recognize and respect them in this territory, as well as their historic connection to the lands and waters around us since time immemorial,”

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Racing and Events Stories Photography Tour De Gnar Yoann Barelli