Olds makes sixth Superweek podium appearance at the 2015 Giro di Burnaby, Holloway wins for the men

Racing without teammates throughout B.C. Superweek hasn’t slowed down Shelley Olds. On Thursday night at the Giro di Burnaby, the 34-year-old Ale Cipollini rider from Gilroy, Calif. made her sixth consecutive appearance in the Top 3, riding to victory — her first at the Vancouver-area race since 2007.

With that experience behind her, winning came down to her knowledge of the course.

The route of the Giro di Burnaby loops through the historic Burnaby Heights neighbourhood of Burnaby, B.C., spanning Hastings Street between Madison and MacDonald Avenue. Knowing its roads and characteristics, even its prevailing weather, Olds tailored her strategy accordingly. “The roads are too big for a real breakaway,” she explained. “There’s a headwind at the longest section, so it’s really hard to go for a break.” Instead, Olds stayed close to Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes’s Denise Ramsden, whose incredible performance at Wednesday’s Gastown Grand Prix won her that race in dramatic fashion, joining other riders in the Giro di Burnaby field who put a target on the powerhouse rider’s back.

Olds was on Ramsden’s wheel the whole time, not giving her an inch.

“We saw her two times already this week go solo,” Olds said, “so we weren’t going to let that happen again. She’s an incredible rider and it’s fun marking her.”

24-year-old Samantha Schneider, meanwhile, made her sophomore podium showing at B.C. Superweek with a second place finish at the Giro. The ISCorp p/b Smart Choice MRI rider from West Allis, Wisconsin — an 11-time US National Champion — was the UBC Grand Prix’s big winner on Tuesday, but at the Giro di Burnaby, she wasn’t able to catch Olds as she made her final sprint to the finish line. New Zealand’s Joanne Kiesanowski, riding for Team TIBCO, sailed across the finish line to round out the podium in third place — her second such finish since also placing third at the White Spot | Delta Road Race.

Riding for an Italian team, Olds said, made the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood — a part of the city immersed in Italy’s culture and community — feel almost like home.

“I spend a lot of my time in Italy,” Olds explained. “I love the country, I love the people, the culture. Here in Burnaby, Vancouver and BC, it’s such an amazing experience. I race all over the world and this is by far one of the best places for crowds!”

Daniel Holloway continues a solid week with a win in the men’s race

On Saturday, it was the Boise Twilight Criterium in Boise, Idaho. On Tuesday, it was the UBC Grand Prix. At the Giro di Burnaby, Daniel Holloway of Team AltoVelo-SeaSucker made his third podium-claiming win of the last seven days, finishing the 45-lap, 55 kilometre men’s race head of SmartStop’s Kris Dahl — the race’s second-place finisher — amid a surge of Silber orange.

With six Silber helmets off the front as the race entered its last three laps, though, it didn’t look like it would end that way.

Holloway described his winning strategy in succinct terms: “Just take control of the Silber guys and ride their lead out,” he said. “And that’s what we did.” With two laps to go, a handful of those Silver riders dropped off, opening up an opportunity for Holloway. “I think they just went a few laps too early and let emotions get the best of them, just in terms of riding hard and going too early,” the 28-year-old American rider said.

Nonetheless, Holloway was effusive with praise for both Silber and their coach, Gord Fraser. “They did such a great job and Gord Fraser is doing amazing with that team,” he said. “They’re learning and they only missed it by a half lap, probably. But they were going super fast and it was tough to hang on.”

Last December, Holloway finished first in the Elite men’s division of the Burnaby 4-Day Bike Race at the Burnaby Velodrome. Like Olds, he’s experienced with riding on the West Coast, and he describes jumping at the opportunity to race in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

“BC Superweek’s been amazing,” he said. “It rivals what we do in America, which is fantastic. In Burnaby, it’s amazing to have such large community support to make this happen. I’ve been here before in the winter racing the Burnaby 4-Day and it’s awesome to come back and see how well everything’s thriving. I hope I can come back next year.”

Ken Hanson made his first podium appearance at BC Superweek with his third-place finish Thursday night. Last year, the former US Pro Criterium champion was second at the Giro di Burnaby, when he and his United Healthcare teammates owned the podium with a 1-2-3 finish.

This weekend, the Tour de White Rock concludes BC Superweek.