Just an hour-and-a-half North of Vancouver and Grouse Mountain sits North America's premier mountain resort, Whistler/Blackcomb. The drive is so gorgeous that you have to pay attention or you'll drive right off into the harbor as you wind along the mountain roads to the small, planned village of Whistler which, even in summertime, is hopping day and night.

Whistler held an invitational downhill race Friday on the "A-Line" course of its popular mountain bike park, taking up some of the slack for Grouse Mountain's cancelled World Cup DH.

While this was a race for fun and prize money, several top riders attended including Steve Peat (GBR, Orange England), Cedric Gracia (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale) and Anne-Caroline Chausson (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale).

Gracia and Chausson won to give their DH team a double win, racing down the jump-filled course in four-plus minutes.

Chausson's time of 4:35 beat Whistler local Vanessa Stark's time of 4:49, as the Champ continues to win races the world over. Gracia's time of 4:14 was good enough for the men's win, beating "Peaty" by one second, while Shaums March (USA, Chumba Wumba) finished 3rd and Scott Beaumont (GBR, Kona/Ford Focus) took 4th.

Crowds were impressive for both the DH race and - we're told - for the four-cross on Wednesday. Brian Lopes (USA, Fox/GT) won that race down a super-fast course, all set on the slopes above Whistler's main gondola.

The good news is that Whistler plans on making a yearly tradition of this "Air Downhill" event, part of the growing field of invitationals ala Red Bull's races in Europe. When you combine Whistler's great facilities, lodging and nightlife, plenty more riders can be expected to make the trip in future years.

So impressed were Gracia and Peat with Whistler and its riding opportunities that they told MountainZone.com they were shopping for a vacation home together. "We'll keep a room for visiting journalists," joked Gracia.

Peat had flown out to the race last week from Mont Ste-Anne, as he awaits his new visa into the U.S. "I can't enter the U.S. until I get that," said Peat as we hung with him in Montreal last week. He has his lawyers trying to secure a five-year athlete's visa, which is due any day. Remember that both Peat and Chris Kovarik (AUS, Intense Cycles) lost World Cup championship hopes last season due to visa problems.

Whistler's mountain bike park is more than impressive, it's downright addicting. Kona Bikes, based in these parts, took MountainZone.com for some freeriding in Whistler last Friday, showing off the mountain's vast bike park. A fleet of FS bikes and several fun runs can keep you busy for days, but you'll pay $32CAN for the lift ticket. But for a summer vacation, it can't beat.

— Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Correspondent