After three hours of swift, determined riding through the tough climbs and swooping downhill pitches of the Sea to Sky Highway, it came down to a sprint finish for the top riders in the elite men's Giro race at the inaugural RBC GranFondo Whistler on Saturday (Sept. 11).
After blasting on to Whistler's Blackcomb Way at the head of a pack of about seven sprinting competitors, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling rider Andrew Pinfold led the way over the finish line with both arms raised high to wrap up the 120-kilometre journey in style.
"It was hotly contested. It was a sprint finish, which can go a lot of different ways, and it went well for us, so I was really pleased by that," said Pinfold, crediting teamwork through the race with fellow UnitedHealthcare rider Morgan Schmitt.
A North Vancouver resident and leading B.C. road cycling racer, Pinfold said it was "amazing" to have the Sea to Sky Highway dominated by cyclists for the GranFondo event.
"It's such a privilege That road is definitely intimidating with the traffic - I ride to Squamish every now and again, I live in North Vancouver, but I've never gone beyond Squamish, so that was a real treat," Pinfold said.
Nic Hamilton of the Trek Red Truck Racing team claimed second place in the men's race, followed by Garneau Evolution's Tim Abercrombie in third.
In the women's race, Total Restoration's Leah Guloien led the way even though she didn't have the backing of a team. After a stint of ultra-fast and aggressive racing in Europe, Guloien pushed the pace in the GranFondo and concluded with a winning attack.
She and Pinfold both said they would be interested in returning to the Sea to Sky for future GranFondo races.
"I wasn't really sure what to expect," Guloien said of her initial expectation of the course. "I thought it was going to be a lot more really hard climbing, but it's not. It's quite rolling, you get a lot of downhill to rest on. I don't think people should be deterred from doing it because the course is too hard at all - it was a good course."
Trek Red Truck Racing's Leah Kirchmann sped into second place, followed by Claire Cameron in third. Squamish's Brandi Heisterman of the Northlands Cycling Team powered herself into ninth place in the women's race, followed by Team Whistler's Ann Yew in 10th.
Throughout Saturday, the field of some 4,000 cyclists in the mass ride component of the inaugural GranFondo continued streaming across the finish line.
Finishing times were not immediately available. Check The Question and The Chief for expanded coverage of the inaugural GranFondo.
