On Wednesday, July 9, top cyclists took to the streets of Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood for the 2014 Gastown Grand Prix. This year, the 41-year-old race is part of the USA Crits Championship series. Also, the prizes for the women’s crit are the richest in North America at $25,000.
Winnipeg’s Leah Kirchmann of team Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies powers out of the corner at the top of the climb, followed closely by the Team Tibco racers. Photo credit: Scott Robarts
Leah Kirchmann wins the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix for the second year in a row, just beating Joanne Kiesanowski at the line from Team Tibco, the previous night’s UBC Grand Prix winner. Photo: Scott Robarts
German racer Jan-Niklas Droste of Team Heizomat bacome a crowd favourite because of his impressively long flyer at the front of the race, Svein Tuft style. Photo: Scott Robarts
North Vancouver’s Ryan Anderson sprinted hard but was beaten at the line by American Luke Keough of UnitedHealthcare. Last year’s winner, Ken Hanson, and Keough’s teammate pulled off a third-place finish this year. Photo: Scott Robarts
Women’s podium, from left: Joanne Kiesanowski (second), Leah Kirchmann (first) and Sam Schneider (third). Photo: Scott Robarts
Men’s podium, from left: Ryan Anderson (second), Luke Keough (first) and Ken Hanson (third). Photo: Scott Robarts