He knows what it takes for a city to land a World Cup MTB race

If you’ve ever watched a World Cup downhill or cross-country race at Mont Sainte Anne, you’ve seen Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Pat Drouin's work. And if you’ve ever wondered how a venue like that gets selected—or what it takes to actually host one of these massive events—we’re going to dig into that today. We’ll also talk about the riding in and around Quebec City, which you might be surprised to learn is one of North America's most vibrant mountain bike destinations. How would you describe the mountain biking scene in and around Quebec City? Are there any lesser-known trails in the region that visitors might want to check out? What does it actually take to host a UCI World Cup or World Championship event? Beyond the race course itself, what factors does the UCI look for in a venue? In your experience, what are the key ingredients for a successful race weekend? Is there a particular year or moment that stands out as especially memorable in your career? Looking back on your 30+ years in the sport, what are you most proud of? Are there any innovations in the sport—like e-MTB racing—that you think are especially important for the future? What’s one lesson you’ve learned from organizing bike races that might surprise people? What advice would you give to someone who wants to organize their own local mountain bike event? If you're heading to Quebec, check out the Auberge & Campagne tavern and inn , which is owned and operated by Pat and his family. Photo: Drouin pictured with his GESTEV business partner, Chantal Lachance. An automatically generated transcript will be available at Singletracks.com later today. This episode is sponsored by Trailbot . Trailbot is the smarter way for trail managers to communicate updates without relying on social media. Don’t let The Algorithm bury your posts—easily share conditions and closures to your web site, social media and the app all at once. Best of all, it’s free. Trailbot is used by over 260 trail systems in 17 states and growing fast. Over 50,000 riders have installed the free iOS and Android apps to get official updates with optional push notifications, without having to see what their weird relative posted on social media. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠trailbot.com⁠⁠⁠ .

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He knows what it takes for a city to land a World Cup MTB race is an episode from Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast by Singletracks.com.

This episode is 01:08:26 long.

This episode was published on Aug 26, 2025.

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