For the first time since 2019, pro bike racers zipped around the streets of Vancouver at the Tour de Concord.
Article content
A sunny evening made for the perfect return of bike racing to the streets of Vancouver on Thursday evening, as thousands of fans descended on a road course set up on the northeastern shore of False Creek to catch some speedy bike action.
Article content
The COVID-19 pandemic meant that B.C. Superweek, the annual race series that brings professional cyclists to the Lower Mainland, didn’t run in 2020 or 2021. And the series is again off this year, with organizers saying in March that logistics organizing the series this year remained too difficult.
But those challenges didn’t daunt the backers of the Tour de Concord, a criterium race set up for this year.
In similar fashion to the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, the Vancouver stage of Superweek that usually runs on Water and Cordova Streets, Tour de Concord racers whipped around an 800-metre road course that ran along a section of Pacific Boulevard as well as across the parking lots to the southeast of Rogers Arena.
Article content
In the women’s pro race, New Zealand’s Rylee McMullen, riding for InstaFund Racing, nudged out seven other riders at the line to take the win.
And in the men’s race, Victoria’s Cole Glover, riding for Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes, nosed out North Vancouver’s Nathan Pruner, riding for Tag Cycling Race Team, at the line.
Along with the two pro races, there were also amateur and junior races, as well as a family bike festival.
The Tour de Concord was originally planned to be the opening event to the now-cancelled Vancouver E-Prix electric car race.