Was up at the crack of dawn with the sparrows this morning so I could catch the start of this year’s “RBC GranFondo” bike race that kicked off this morning in down town Vancouver.
Touted as the first world-class Gran Fondo in Canada in 2010, the 120km race to Whistler along BC’s stunning “Sea-to-Sky Highway” saw 4,000 riders head off through Stanley Park this morning around 7am and make their way across the iconic “Lions Gate Bridge” to North Vancouver.
With a monstrous 2,400m elevation gain to battle along the way I’ve no doubt that the course will prove to be quite the challenge for the professional “Giro” class riders, and followers alike. I would have dearly loved to have been involved in this year’s event, but without a decent road racing bike and any suitable lead-up training, it just wasn’t to be.
Instead, I settled for taking a few shots from an elevated position at the south end of the Lions Gate Bridge (below).
Update: So In the end, after 3 hours, 14 minutes and 29 seconds, Andrew Pinfold of the United Healthcare team beat Nic Hamilton (2nd, Trek/Red Truck) and Tim Abercrombie (3rd Garneau Evolution) to the line in an intense sprint.
For the ladies, it was Leah Guloien (Total Restoration) who took out the event in another sprint finish, in a time of 3 hours, 37 minutes and 2 seconds. Second place went to Leah Kirchmann (Trek/Red Truck – same time), who nudged Claire Cameron (Mighty Riders – same time).
masey
Joe
Laurie Larocque
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