Downtown Port Coquitlam will be flooded with spectators next Friday to watch the city's first road bike race, part of one of the biggest cycling series in the country.
The PoCo Grand Prix is making its debut as part of BC Superweek, a race series that also includes stops in Delta, Gastown, Burnaby and White Rock this and next week, and features 175 professional riders from a dozen countries racing at speeds of up to 63 km/h.
Sponsored by Dominion Lending, the PoCo Grand Prix will also see the city's two main biking businesses — retailer Cap's Westwood Cycle and manufacturer Norco — join forces to celebrate the sport.
"This is very positive for our community," said Norco marketing manager Chris Cook, who has been on the Grand Prix advisory committee with Kelly Hobbis, owner of Cap's Westwood Cycle. "We are very excited about this happening in our hometown in Port Coquitlam."
Norco is putting on the kids' race at 4:15 p.m., which so far has drawn 175 entries from five- to nine-year-olds wanting to race a lap on the professional course.
"For us, we design and distribute bikes for play to the podium," Cook said, "so this was a natural fit."
As well, Norco is sponsoring the H&R Block Pro Cycling Team, which in April won the circuit race at the Sea Otter Cycling Classic in Salinas, Cal.
Brad Fenton, president of the Port Coquitlam Downtown Business Improvement Association, said his group is also on board to sponsor the trade show, the PoCo Grand Prix Business Expo. The BIA also has had an official on the advisory committee "whose job it is to help ensure business members interests are represented."
"Because this is a new event, it has the ability to draw bicycle enthusiasts and the general public to downtown Port Coquitlam and bring awareness to the businesses in the area," he wrote in an email to The Tri-City News on Wednesday. "Our business members will have the ability to showcase their products and services to new potential customers."
Still, the decision to host the race doesn't sit well with some business owners.
Jim Van Rassel of New Trend Optical on Shaughnessy Street said downtown merchants weren't consulted beforehand. "I like bicycle races but it has to be in the right area, at the right time," he told The Tri-City News Thursday, adding, "People can't get to their appointments… I just think it's a poorly thought-out location."
But city spokesperson Pardeep Purewal said the downtown will be open to shoppers on July 15.
And since the PoCo Grand Prix was announced last year, she said the municipality has reached out to downtown businesses on how to participate (the latest flyer was distributed on Wednesday).
"This is a really high-profile event and it will bring people from across the region. We have international riders and their followers who will also be in town. We encourage our local businesses to see this as an opportunity to grow their business and showcase what we have to offer to the thousands that will be here."
• Visit pocograndprix.ca for full details.
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@jwarrenTC
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WHAT IS IT?
The PoCo Grand Prix is a road bike race that's part of BC Superweek and involves professional male and female cyclists competing on a 1.3-km circuit in a criterium course (about 40 to 65 laps). Viewers can also take in the kids', youth and corporate challenge races as well as live entertainment and children's activities.
WHAT IS BC SUPERWEEK?
Canada's largest professional cycling series, BC Superweek runs today (Friday) to July 17 and offers more than $125,000 in prize cash for competitors. The series includes:
• Tour de Delta (July 8, 9 and 10)
• Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix (July 13)
• Giro di Burnaby (July 14)
• PoCo Grand Prix (July 15)
• and Tour de White Rock (July 16 and 17)
VOCABULARY
• Criterium: A bike race made up of laps around a closed circuit, with each lap ranging from 1- to 1.5 km.
• Primes (pronounced preems): Race watchers will hear the PA announcer mention primes, which are intermediate sprints within a race that offer cyclists extra points or a cash prize (sponsored by businesses or funding from the crowd).
POCO GRAND PRIX RACE SCHEDULE
• 12:20 p.m.: women’s category 3-4
• 1:10 p.m.: men’s category 3-4
• 2:05 p.m.: awards
• 2:15 p.m.: corporate challenge
• 4:15 p.m.: kids’ race
• 4:45 p.m.: youth race
• 5:15 p.m.: opening remarks
• 6 p.m.: women’s category 1-2
• 7:30 p.m.: men’s pro race
• 8:40 p.m.: women's and men's awards
WHERE TO PARK
Parking will be at a premium next Friday in downtown Port Coquitlam, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., so spectators and volunteers are encouraged to take public transit, walk or cycle in (Cap's Westwood Cycle will offer a free bike valet service). Much like the PoCo BIA car show in August, the area between Shaughnessy Street and Mary Hill Road — between Elgin and Wilson avenues — will be closed to traffic. Public parking will be open at the PoCo recreation complex.
VOLUNTEER CALL
Want to help? Organizers need about 200 volunteers — aged 16 and up — to stage the race on July 15. Among the jobs are: athlete accommodation, racecourse fencing and signage, marshalling, set up and take down, spectator engagement, VIP tent and beer garden, fundraising, first aid, the PoCo Grand Prix Expo (trade show) and pace vehicle drivers. Visit pocograndprix.ca/volunteer.
HOST A CYCLIST
Tri-City families able to provide a place to sleep or shower — and a safe storage place for a bike — can host a BC Superweek competitor between July 8 and 17. Go to pocograndprix.ca/volunteer to register.
THE ATHLETES
Check out Wednesday's edition of The Tri-City News for stories on the Tri-City competitors in the PoCo Grand Prix and, in our TC Arts/Ent. section, the entertainment lineup at the July 15 event. And as a media sponsor, The Tri-City News will be reporting about the activities all day; follow us on Twitter @TriCityNews or visit our Facebook page for updates. We will have full coverage and photos in our Wednesday, July 20 edition.
