A new women's only mountain bike race is coming to Squamish this year—The Loam Hustler.
Founded by Clare Livingstone, the woman behind Treat Squamish and Ladies Who Loam, the enduro race slated for May 11 will offer two courses for women of all skill levels.
Ladies Who Loam
For Livingstone, bike riding has always been a part of her life in one way or another.
“I guess my dad, grandad, and partner were the instigators in my passion for the sport,” Livingstone told The Squamish Chief.
“I have always ridden a bike, mostly on family cross-country rides in my home country of Scotland or commuting to work. It wasn’t until I moved to Australia and met my partner that I got into downhill mountain biking.
“We moved to Squamish in 2016, where I became a SORCA member, and my passion and skill escalated. Fast forward nine years, and I still love riding but I love supporting women riding even more!”
In 2021, she launched the Ladies Who Loam, an unofficial ladies-only social ride to get more female riders into the sport.
“[There are] no membership, no registration, no fees, no waivers and no prerequisites; just turn up and ride,” Livingstone said.
“If I had to guess, we have probably had over 500 different women of all abilities come ride with us.”
The Loam Hustler
Livingstone said that the desire to create a women’s only enduro race came after realizing how “underrepresented women are” in the sport.
“After running Ladies who Loam for four years as well as attending many B.C. Cup races and World Cup races as a spectator, I realized how underrepresented women are,” she said.
“We need more juniors and more women riding so we can have more women making it to elite level and more women on podiums.
“Putting on a women-specific race run by women is key to providing a stepping stone to other races like the Squamish Enduro and B.C. Cup races.”
She describes the event as a space for women to be able to build confidence to enter a race with men, while also being able to push their comfort zones and have fun at the same time.
The race will be enduro style, which means that riders are only timed on the downhill stages.
Two course options will be offered: a black five-stage course and a blue three-stage course.
According to the SORCA website, the black course will run from:
Stage 1: Somewhere Over There
Stage 2: The Sauce, Ditch Pig 3
Stage 3: Lower Another Man’s Garbage
Stage 4: McLoud, Whet Yer Blade, Brodown
Stage 5: Your Mom, Phil & Cam’s, Pseudo 3
The blue course will run from:
Stage 1: Full Nelson, Lower Half Nelson
Stage 2: Lowdown 1, Brodown *Please respect the current closure of Lowdown 1
Stage 3: Pseudo 1,2,3
“The blue course … is also aMTB [Adaptive Mountain Biking] friendly,” Livingstone said.
“It was important for me to have the opportunity for adaptive riders to compete as I really want to eliminate as many barriers as I can for women to ride.
“The Sea to Sky Gondola is supporting the aMTB riders by paying their registration fees.”
Juniors under 20 years of age will also have half-price entry.
As for how many people she expects to take part in the inaugural race? Over 100 have already committed.
“Being the inaugural year, it’s so hard to know. We had anticipated 175, but we already have 140 riders registered and it’s not even been open a week,” Livingstone said.
“Profits raised from this event will be used to protect, develop and maintain our incredible trail network through SORCA as well, and a portion will be a legacy fund towards supporting this race for years to come.”
It’s the hope that more women can make it onto podiums across the globe that drives Livingstone to advocate for races like The Loam Hustler.
“As I write this, I am sat in Tasmania at Red Bull Hardline supporting Canadian rider Gracey Hemstreet. She is a force!” Livingstone said.
Hemstreet, a 20-year-old B.C. rider, took home the win on Feb. 7 at the Red Bull Hardline—one of the toughest downhill mountain bike races in the world.
“Being the only girl on the podium after injuries and the only girl to complete the course, it just goes to show how underrepresented women are and how much they need those grassroots races as a building block to take it to the next level.”
Registration for the event opened on Feb. 1 and will close on April 11. Riders can register via the SORCA website where they can also sign up to be a volunteer.
