Gallery: 2016 Giro di Burnaby

Due to the wet roads at in the early stages of the race, there were several crashes in the women's event. Here a racer carries her bike back to the pits after a crash damaged her back wheel.

Eventual race winner Kimberley Wells of team Colavita-Bianchi (second rider) was in control of the breaks as the race progressed.

Giro di Burnaby,women's podium. Photo: Scott Robarts

Photo: Scott Robarts

The 2016 Giro di Burnaby was a battle between the powerhouse teams of Rally Pro Cycling, Subaru NSWIS Cycling and Silber Pro Cycling.

A crash in the last lap brought down a number of riders.

Scott Law, winner of Thursday’s Giro di Burnaby, has cycling in the family. Both his father and grandfather were competitive cyclists. It seems that pedigree is paying off at BC Superweek. Law, of Wollongong, Australia won Brenco Criterium in Lander, B.C., this past Saturday, too.

“Criterium racing in Australia is a lot like the one in Ladner, a lot of tight corners and a lot of short rides, and a lot of bike riders,” said the Subaru NSWIS & MS team rider. “A course like the one here in Burnaby is a lot more suited to someone like me where I can open up a big sprint and get it going.

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“I just bided my time and launched and came away with the win. This is our first time overseas and we’re just a little team from New South Wales in Australia. We just wanted to come over here and race with the big boys and it seems to be going pretty well I guess.”

With the team’s average age of just less than 21 years old, Law is the elder statesman of Subaru NSWIS & MS. But according to the 25 year old, what his teammates may lack in experience, they make up with youthful exuberance and effort. “I couldn’t have done it without the boys,” he said. “They’re all just a bunch of young boys and I’m the old fart of the group! To come away with the win here is not a win for me, it’s a win for them. They’re the ones putting in the hard yards for me. I get to be the one to put my hands in the air, but they’re the ones who deserve the credit, not me.”

After 45 laps totalling 58.5 km, Calgary’s Kris Dahl of Silber Pro Cycling was second, matching his result from 2015’s event. Rally Cycling’s Brad Huff, who was second at Wednesday’s Gastown Grand Prix, rounded out the podium in third.

In the women’s race, Australian rider Kimberley Wells (Colavita | Bianchi) finished ahead of two Canadian national team members, Vancouver’s Stephanie Roorda (second) and Alison Jackson (third). Wells was second in Wednesday’s Gastown Grand Prix.

“This is my first time racing BC Superweek and Canada’s attracted a lot of Aussies up here,” Wells said. “It’s really unfortunate that 99 Aussie cents only makes one Canadian dollar so Canada’s got something up on us, but I’ll happily take some Canadian dollars home at this stage.” Wells laughed.

Rain soak the course just before the women’s 30-lap, 39-km race got underway. “Rain makes a breakaway more likely to stick on a course like this, but the road was drying out so that played into our hands for a bunch sprint,” Wells said. “With the Colavia-Bianchi squad that’s here today, we’ve got a lot of really strong, dedicated women. Even though I love a sprint and I love a win, I would have been perfectly happy with my teammates going for themselves and really showing the crowd what they can do.”