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No romance but lots of heart (and aching) at Gastown Grand Prix

'I just buried myself into a deep hole of suffering,' women's winner says
Martha Perkins

Bigger and better.

That’s how people on both sides of the race course are describing Wednesday’s Gastown Grand Prix. The only thing missing was a .

gastown grand prix
This year's Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix set a record for the number of competitors: 146 men and 79 women. Crowds lined the downtown streets for the 60km race July 12, 2017. - Brian Cyr

The 50-lap, 60-kilometre road race attracted a record 146 cyclists in the men’s race and 79 women competitors, which tied the 2015 record.

One of the racers was Germany’s Florenz Knauer. He’d intended to propose to his girlfriend Alisha Lundgren — whom he’d met when he was guest hosted by Lundgren’s mother during the 2012 race — at the Gastown race but when he found himself on the winner’s podium at Tuesday night’s inaugural , he just couldn’t wait. In front of thousands of delighted fans, he called Lundgren up to the stage and (She said yes.)

Wednesday night’s race through Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­streets didn’t have a romantic ending but it was still a sweet moment for the winners.

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Racers say the fan support along the course means a lot to them. - Brian Cyr

“Gastown is a hard race but it’s my favourite criterium of the whole year, and that’s true for a lot of guys,” says Boulder, Colorado’s Eric Young, who won the men’s cycling race for the second year in a row. “You host such a great race up here; it’s amazing.”

Young, a sprinter with the six-member Rally Cycling team, said, "I've got to say that was one of the hardest lead outs I've ever been a part of. There was a little bit of a break up the road and at 12 to go we didn't want to take the front that early, but we had to bring it back together. That was a risk, we took it. My teammate Jesse Anthony rode amazing up there. It was he and Patrick Naud. With a six-man team it's hard to control the race. The guys rode their hearts out today."

gastown grand prix
With 79 women competitors, this year's race matched the 2015 record-setting event. - Brian Cyr

It was also Young’s second win in the eight-race BC Superweek, which continues tonight with the Giro di Burnaby. He won Friday’s MK Delta Lands Criteria to kick off the series and the Tour de Delta.

Rally Cycling claimed second and third spot in the women’s race.

Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank’s Kendall Ryan sprinted ahead of Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­rider Sarah Bergen and Allison Beveridge in front of what organizers say was the biggest crowd for the women’s finish after Global Relay rebooted the race in 2012.

gastown grand prix
Californian Kendall Ryan of Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank won the women's race. - Brian Cyr

Ryan couldn’t finish theNew West race but said Gastown’s course suited her strengths. “I’m really good at tactical, technical races, just sticking it out and being patient. I really like this course and can’t wait to come back,” said Ryan, a first-time Gastown competitor. Describing the race’s final moments, she said, I just powered it out of that last corner. I just buried myself into a deep hole of suffering. It was a really awesome finish.”

Awesome was not quite how the women who followed her to the finish line described the results. “Definitely not the exact race we wanted,” Bergen said after the race. “We’re out here to race aggressively, which every single woman on my team did, so I’m super proud of that. Too bad I couldn’t bring home the big W today, but I’m very happy to be up here on the podium with Allison.”

gastown grand prix
Source: Brian Cyr

The 28-year-old Vancouverite also came second at the New West Grand Prix.

Bergen was one of the racers who noted the positive impact of the record-setting crowd of race watchers. “A huge thanks to every single one of the fans out there who screamed their heads off. It means a huge amount to all of the athletes out here.”

Also taking part were friends of Ellen Watters, one of Canada’s top cyclists who was hit and killed by a car during a training run in Sussex, New Brunswick last December.

gastown grand prix
Sara Giovannetti and Ariane Bonhomme are honouring the memory Ellen Watters, a teammate who was killed when she was hit by a car during a training ride last December, by advocating for a Safer Passing Law in B.C. - Brian Cyr

“Losing Ellen was a horrible reminder that far too often we are not safe,” says two-time Olympian Tara Whitten, a former teammate who rides with The Cyclery-4iiii team. “It was a reminder of all those times when I thought I was visible to motorists only to feel the blast of a vehicle passing way too close, a harsh reminder of my vulnerability.”

Whitten is one of the advocates for the Safer Passing Law being recommended by the BC Road Safety Law Reform Group. ICBC statistics indicate that during riding season, 740 cyclists will be injured and seven killed.

The proposed law would require drivers to give cyclists 1.5 metres of space while passing and, if there’s more than one lane for traffic in the same direction, to have to pass in the lane next to the one the cyclist is using.

Men's results
1 – Eric Young (Rally Cycling – Boulder, CO)
2 – Scott Law (Cylance Cycling Team - Coniston, AUS)
3 – Tyler Magner (Holowesko|Citadel Cycling Team – Griffin, GA)

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Women's results
1 – Kendall Ryan (Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank - Ventura, CA)
2 – Sara Bergen (Rally Racing - Vancouver, BC)
3 – Allison Beveridge (Rally Racing – Calgary, AB)
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