It may have been approaching bedtime, but Mitch Ketler’s dream came true even before his head hit the pillow.
The Winnipeg racer for the Applewood/Garneau cycling team pipped Germany’s Florenz Knauer at the finish line to win the men’s pro race at the third annual PoCo Grand Prix in downtown Port Coquitlam on Friday.
The 50-lap race finished at around 10:30 p.m., the first time in the history of the week-long BC Superweek series of races around Metro Vancouver an event was held completely under the glow of street lights.
Ketler, an amateur, said beating the pros was a “dream come true,” and a boost to his confidence that he can compete at a top level with two events still to come in the nine race series.
While the peloton was disrupted several times by crashes that splintered the pack, it pulled back together on the final lap when Ketler was able to hold the inside line coming out of the last turn on Shaughnessy Street.
“I just had to cut it tight,” he said. “I knew that was my chance.”
Knauer, who’s second place finish was his fifth podium in the week to go along with his victory in Tuesday’s New West Grand Prix in New Westminster, said racing under the lights was a “fun” experience.
“The lighting was perfect,” he said.
Willie Myers finished third.
In the pro women’s race, held in fading twilight, American Kendall Ryan, of Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank, outdistanced Coquitlam native Sara Bergen to defend her PoCo championship that she won last year. It was her also her second victory of this year’s BC Superweek. On Sunday she was on the top of the podium for the Tour de Delta road race.
With only two teammates to work with, Ryan said she tried to “ride smart,” especially against Bergen powerhouse Rally Cycling team that dominated the week’s previous races.
Maggie Coles-Lyster, who’s from Maple Ridge, finished third.
Click here for a gallery of photos from Friday's Poco Grand Prix.
July 16: An earlier version of the story misspelled Mitch Ketler's last name.
