Over the course of Leah Guloien’s cycling career, she has taken part in events across Europe and the United States, from La Route De France to the Tour of Flanders.
But now the 33-year-old Port Moody secondary alum is adding Port Coquitlam to the list of town’s she has raced in, as she gears up for the PoCo Grand Prix, a B.C. Superweek event. The race will be a homecoming of sorts for the Tri-City athlete.
“I have family coming out to watch,” she said. “To have an event in Superweek, it will be a much higher calibre of racers... People will get to see some of the best riders.”
Guloien has been a competitive road cyclist for nine years, following in the footsteps of her father, Nels Guloien, who got her interested in the sport after she wrapped up a successful rowing career at Simon Fraser University.
She began competing internationally and eventually landed a spot with Colavita, a professional American cycling team, where she raced for two years.
However, after a few years away from home she decided to return to the Tri-Cities, where she found a spot with the Trek Red Truck racing team. She said she now spends a lot of her time racing and helping develop local female riders looking to break into the sport.
“I am trying to get more women involved,” she said. “I am taking women that seem to be into it and working with them. It is something where they can get an idea of what racing with a team is like.”
One rider Guloien has gotten to know during her experience with Trek is Sara Bergen, another Coquitlam-born athlete who will be competing at the PoCo Grand Prix this week.
Bergen has a similar cycling background, with the Dr. Charles Best secondary alum starting in the sport during her time as a student at BCIT, where she commuted to class by bicycle.
“I really wanted to race bikes,” she said. “I just didn’t know where to start.”
She bought a road bike after graduating and started taking the sport more seriously, setting her eye on the Whistler Grandondo. When she won the event, it was only a matter of time before a spot opened up for her on the Trek cycling team.
Both Bergen and Guloien said they hoped that their example would help encourage more women to take up cycling and get involved in the sport.
In fact, Guloien said she is organizing a table at this week’s PoCo Grand Prix, where a handful of female Olympic athletes will be on hand to talk
“The whole idea is just showing women what the sport is about,” she said. “We just want to get women together to develop and grow the sport.”
POCO GRAND PRIX INFO
The PoCo Grand Prix will kickoff at at 12:20 p.m. on Friday, July 15, with the women’s CAT 3/4 race, followed by the men’s CAT 3/4 race at 1:10 p.m.
Entertainment and events will take place throughout the day in the lead up to the featured pro races, which begin at 6 p.m., followed by awards at 8:40 p.m.
The course runs south on Shaughnessy Street, east on Wilson Avenue connecting to McAllister Avenue via Donald Street, before continuing north on Mary Hill Road turning west on Elgin Avenue. For more information go to www.pocograndprix.ca.
@TriCityNews
