Burnaby, BC – The inaugural Tour de Concord Metrotown Criterium attracted a strong field of Elite Men and Women who lined up to challenge for the crowning title of the first-ever Tour de Concord victor and some considerable cash prizes.
The Tour de Concord Metrotown opened with a bike festival which included a community bbq, beer garden, live DJ entertainment, bike demos with Trek Bikes, free bike tune-ups from Velofix, vendor tents, kids bike helmet decorating, and a Cycling BC iRide kids biking zone.
The day warmed up with a youth race that gave riders in the U13/U15 and U17/U19 age categories an opportunity to race their bikes on the same course that the elite men and women would ride on later in the day. The closed racecourse stretched roughly 800m with some fast and technical sections around the future home of Concord Metrotown, a master-planned community offering the largest bike amenity space in North America.
Tripleshot Cycling Youth Team rider, Remy Garrison, rode away with the win in the Men’s U17/U19 category, followed by Manu Moore (Devo Cannondale) in 2nd and Marcus Nguyen (Exceleration Triathlon) in 3rd. Despite crashing earlier in the weekend at the Track Cycling Provincial Championships at the Burnaby Velodrome, Tripleshot’s Kimberly Chen mustered up the courage to race at the Tour de Concord Metrotown and take the win in the Women’s U17/U19 race. Devo’s Elizabeth Khrisanova came in 2nd place.
Lucas Gitt, Austin Beese (Exceleration Triathlon), and Ryan Nickerson (Devo Cannondale) came in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively in the Men’s U13/U15 race, while Exceleration Triathlon clubmates Sonia Nguyen and Holly Davies finished 1st and 2nd in the Women’s U13/U15 category.
Having been deprived of racing for much of the past year and a half, riders and fans alike were hungry for the high-level competition and festive atmosphere that the Tour de Concord Metrotown promised to deliver.
The men’s and women’s races saw some prominent riders rolling up to the start line including Annie Foreman-Mackey who represented Canada and set a new national record on the Women’s Team Pursuit squad at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. With a total cash prize purse of $5,000 between the men’s and women’s races and additional sponsored cash ‘primes’ awarded throughout the race, the action was fast and intense.
Claire Cameron (Podium Sports Cycling) would claim the win and the $1,000 1st place prize in the women’s event, trailed closely by Annie Foreman-Mackey (Cyclery Racing) in 2nd, and Haley Gill (Fluevog’s Crit Nasty) in 3rd. After a blazing start to the men’s race and a couple of crashes that would break up the 42-rider field, only eleven riders would cross the finish line on the final lap. Alexander Murison (Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes) was victorious among the men and took the top podium next to Sam Morris (Mighty Cycling) in 2nd and Canadian National Cyclocross Champion, Michael van den Ham, in 3rd place.
“Concord Pacific really championed this vision to bring everyone together to celebrate cycling in the community and it was amazing to see it come to life,” said Erin Waugh, CEO of Cycling BC. “The support from the community, the City of Burnaby, corporate sponsors and event partners really speaks to the growing popularity of cycling at all levels. We hope to build on this momentum into the future.”
It was a fantastic day of bike racing and a celebration of cycling. The event was hosted by Concord Pacific with the help of M1 Sports Management and in support of Cycling BC’s youth cycling and athlete development programs.
For more information about Concord Metrotown, please visit concordmetrotown.com
