2007 TransRockies Challenge sold out

Long before 2007 registration opened, promoters expected the TransRockies Challenge to reach its field limit more quickly than ever. After a record-breaking 2006 edition which featured the largest field yet and a brand new course, the race's reputation as challenging, seven-day mountain bike stage race keeps growing.

Andreas Hestler and Seamus McGrath (Rocky Mountain Business Objects/Felt Racing) won the men's division in 2006 while Sue Butler and Anna Vacca (Bear Naked/Cannondale) won the women's race. Racers faced a variety of conditions from hail to baking heat and from dry fast conditions to soupy mud.

Registration for next year opened at 12:01 am (MST) on November 1st, and entries started pouring in from around the world. Within a few days, over 80 percent of the available 275 two-person team spots had been taken. The remaining spots filled quickly, and on Friday November 17th, the field was declared full, two months earlier than last year. 2007 marks the second consecutive year that the race has sold out.

This year's sixth edition of the TransRockies Challenge will draw teams from over 20 countries on five continents. The race starts August 12th and goes for one week throughout the Canadian Rockies. While the bulk of the teams are still from the US and Canada, in 2007, over 50 teams from the United Kingdom will start along with others from Kenya, Hong Kong, and Israel.

"We're really gratified to have reached capacity so quickly and we take it as a testament to the hard work put in by everyone in the TransRockies family," said event director Aaron McConnell. "We'll take a minute to celebrate it and then get back to work making sure that TransRockies VI is the best one yet."

Though the field is full, a waiting list is in place in the event of any withdrawals from the event. Teams who wish to be placed on the waiting list can do so through www.transrockies.com.