Eric Young took a dominating win in last night’s Gastown Grand Prix with a blistering turn of speed after a perfect leadout from the team. It is Young's second consecutive victory at Gastown. Also on the podium in Vancouver were Sara Bergen and Allison Beveridge, finishing second and third in the women’s race. The team’s impressive night in the historic Gastown district continued Rally Cycling’s run of wins and podiums north of the border at BC Superweek, including the team’s sweep of the MK Delta Lands Criterium and Kirsti Lay’s victory at the inaugural New West Grand Prix.
Eric Young on the top of the podium for the second straight year
With $12,000 going to the first rider across the line, the Gastown Grand Prix continued its reputation for the biggest criterium prize pot in Canada, with roots dating back to 1973. The race started with constant attacks and breakaway attempts along the brick-laden finishing straightaway. It wasn’t until the second half of the race that Rally Cycling brought the chaotic peloton under control to ensure a sprint finale for defending champion Young. With ten laps to go, the team amassed near the front behind the Cylance team, with Young sitting on the wheel of Shane Kline. In the closing laps, the team overtook Cylance with Pierrick Naud and Brad Huff stringing out the peloton, leaving just a few riders left at the front of the action to contest the finale. Down the final back straight, Huff turned on the afterburners before Kline guided Young through the last corner in the perfect position to power to the line ahead of Scott Law (Cylance Cycling Team) and Tyler Magner (Holowesko | Citadel).
“It is an honor to win the Gastown Grand Prix for the second consecutive year,” said Young. “It is one of the fastest and most prestigious criteriums in North America which makes it extremely difficult to win, let alone twice. The team rode perfectly. We took the front a bit earlier than planned, around 14 laps to go, to pull back a small breakaway. With two laps to go Pierrick took us past the rest of the field, then Brad rode the hardest lap and a half I've seen in a long time. Shane stepped up on the last lap to keep the speed high through the final two corners, and it was all I needed to finish it off.”
Bergen and Beveridge finished second and third at Gastown
In the women’s race, Bergen, Beveridge and Lay took turns attacking off the front. After a strong move by Bergen had been reeled in, Lay went on the offensive before an untimely fall returned her to the field. Lay shook off the fall, remounted and in the closing laps went to the front, stringing out the field for Bergen and Beveridge. As the line approached, the front of the peloton caught a group of lapped riders, adding an element of chaos to the closing meters. With riders forced from their sprinting lines, it was Kendell Ryan (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) crossing the line ahead of Bergen and Beveridge.
“I am proud of the team and my ride,” said Bergen. “We were certainly going into this race with confidence. With five podiums this week, the team knew we could manage either a breakaway or a sprint finish. Having competed in Gastown four times, I knew the finish is always messy. Running into the back of a lapped group is never ideal, but didn't affect my finish too much. I was committed to sprinting into the back of them. We had such a fantastic race as a team I was prepared to give it all and then grab my brakes after the line.”
Kirsti Lay solos to victory in the New West Grand Prix
The Gastown Grand Prix continued a stellar run for Rally Cycling at BC Superweek that included an impressive one-two finish for the women on Tuesday night at the inaugural New West Grand Prix. The women of Rally Cycling wasted no time and powered to the front right from the start and strung out the peloton for the first 20 laps. Then Lay jumped away and soloed to victory, her second solo win in the series. While Lay powered around the course, the rest of the team monitored the front of the peloton and covered attacks to assure Lay’s success. In the field sprint, Sara Bergen crossed the line first to give Rally Cycling the top two spots on the podium.
“The race was aggressive from the start," said Lay. “We wanted to keep the pace high and the course itself made the race about attrition with a large part of it being a climb. There were a few attacks put in by our team, Tibco and Hagens Berman. I countered at the right time and got away. From there, our girls covered everything for me. It feels great to take two wins this week. It has been fast, hard racing and a lot of fun!”
Gastown Grand Prix | Men
1. Eric Young (Rally Cycling)
2. Scott Law (Cylance Cycling Team)
3. Tyler Magner (Holowesko | Citadel)
4. Davide Vigano (Team Cinelli Chrome)
5. Campbell Stewart (Cycling New Zealand)
6. Steve Fisher (Hangar 15 Bicycles)
7. Ryan Anderson (Direct Energie)
8. Elliott Doyle (Garneau-Quebecor)
9. Felix Cote-Bouvette (Garneau-Quebecor)
10. Pier-Andre Cote (Silber Pro Cycling)
Gastown Grand Prix | Women
1. Kendall Ryan (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
2. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling)
3. Allison Beveridge (Rally Cycling)
4. Elizabeth Williams (Hagens Berman | Supermint)
5. Joelle Numainville
6. Heather Fischer (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank)
7. Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb)
8. Maggie Coles-Lyster (TaG Cycling Race Team)
9. Holly Edmondston (Cycling New Zealand)
10. Jamie Gilgen (Rise Racing)
New West Grand Prix | Men
1. Florenz Knauer (Stradalli-Safatti)
2. Davide Vigano (Team Cinelli Chrome)
3. Campbell Stewart (Cycling New Zealand)
4. Felix Cote-Bouvette (Garneau-Quebecor)
5. Pier-Andre Cote (Silber)
6. Steve Fisher (Hangar 15 Bicycles)
7. Ryan Aitcheson (First Internet Bank Cycling)
8. Wolfgang Brandl (Movistar Team Ecuador)
9. Eric Young (Rally Cycling)
10. Joshua Taylor (New South Wales Institute of Sport)
New West Grand Prix | Women
1. Kirsti Lay (Rally Cycling)
2. Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling)
3. Stephanie Roorda (Sho-Air TWENTY20)
4. Josie Talbot (ISCorp p/b Progress)
5. Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb)
6. Rachel Langdon (ISCorp p/b Progress)
7. Elyse Fraser (Cycling New Zealand)
8. Joelle Numainville
9. Lily Williams (Rally Cycling)
10. Monica Volk (Rally Cycling)
