Organizers in Kamloops, British Columbia, are close to finishing plans for a five-day endurance mountain bike stage race to be held in 2009. The Intermontane Challenge will run July 27-31 and boast 450km of riding in and around the city known as the “Tournament Capital of Canada.”

Kamloops sits in south central British Columbia, about four hours drive from Vancouver. The town is a hotspot of mountain biking, and is the home of the Kamloops Bike Ranch, a 26-hectare area of downhill and cross-country trail networks. The town is also home to Canadian stars Wade Simmons, Catherine Pendrel and Seamus McGrath.

The Intermontane Challenge will feature a cloverleaf-shaped course, with the city of Kamloops sitting at the heart of the clover. Each day riders will tackle a different loop of the clover, starting and finishing in the town. Organizers say the event will boast a prize purse of more than $60,000.

The Intermontane Challenge will be British Columbia’s third major endurance stage race, behind July’s BC Bike Race and August’s TransRockies Challenge. Unlike those events, the Intermontane Challenge will feature solo and two-person team competition.

In its first year, the race will cap registration at 300 riders. Registration begins September 1, 2008. Organizers will host a weekend preview of the course on September 6-7. For more information, visit www.intermontainechallenge.com