History

The idea for a snowmobile race in Labrador was around for quite some time. From a winter tourism perspective, it was felt that the region needed something to attract visitors from outside the area. Labrador needed a special event to highlight the region as a premiere snowmobiling destination. It would have to be something that would be long standing with economic benefits and it would have to be something new, exciting and popular worldwide.

Taking into account that Labrador is known for its extended winter season and rugged landscape, it seemed only fitting to create an event that would showcase the true beauty of this northern region. An event such as a world-class snowmobile endurance race seemed like a perfect fit. The wheels were in motion and Cain’s Quest would become a reality and would prove to be a bigger success than could have ever been imagined.

2006

2009

2010

2020

THE PILOT EVENT

OFF TO AN EXCITING START

15 teams raced from Labrador City to Churchill Falls and return. This 1200 km race would set the stage for what would quickly become the longest race of its kind in Canada. In its inaugural year, Cain’s Quest attracted 3 teams from Quebec, 10 from the Labrador City/Wabush, 1 from Goose Bay, and 1 from Forteau/L’anse au Loup area. These registration numbers were indicative of what the race would become. It quickly became obvious that there was a huge appetite for this type of extreme sport. The race went off beautifully. Racers were transmitting satellite signals along the route on our website and cainsquest.com was on overload. Hits from all over Canada and the United States proved that this race was something to watch for. The race was ever changing right to the finish when the winning team seemed to come out of nowhere. Now that’s action!

GROWING NUMBERS

REGISTRATION NUMBERS ON THE RISE

In only 4 short years, registration for Cain’s Quest increased by a whopping 333% and millions were watching from more than 70 different countries across the globe right here on cainsquest.com! To date, Cain’s Quest has attracted racers from across the country as well as various U.S. states. Not only have participation rates been on the rise, the race itself has grown in terms of route distance, community involvement, and prize purse.

SOME UPS & DOWNS

THE CHALLENGES OF LABRADOR’S WINTERS

In 2010, Labrador experienced a rare occurrence when in months leading up to the race, weather patterns changed creating warm temperatures. This resulted in unsafe ice conditions across Labrador. The Cain’s Quest route became impassable and there were no other alternative routes available as snow and ice continued to disappear across Labrador. In the interest of safety, the organizing committee had no choice but to postpone the race until March 2011. 24 teams had signed on for 2010 and many remained on the roster for 2011. There has since been races in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

2020 was an amazing race and hit a lot of milestones.

Once registration opened it took only 18 days to fill the roster
Two all female teams raced this year
Four countries were represented at the start line. (USA, Canada, Finland and Switzerland)
Cain’s Quest secured the first ever signature sponsorship with Rio Tinto

WHAT A YEAR!