While Zack Garland was blown away by the support shown at the finish line of Saturday's (Sept. 10) RBC GranFondo Whistler, riding across the line on Blackcomb Way was extra special because the cheers were for him alone.
That's because the 25-year-old from St. John's, Nfld., blew the pro men's Giro field away to win the second running of the 122-kilometre cycling race up the Sea to Sky Highway, finishing more than three minutes ahead of anyone else with a time of three hours, 16 minutes and two seconds.
"It was just euphoric," said the Team H&R Block rider, describing the feeling as he raised his arms in triumph at the finish line. "With about five km to go, I felt like I had it and somebody told me I had (a gap of) three minutes. I never stopped going, and just coming up and taking that last left-hander with all the people there was just amazing.
"All the suffering goes away. These people were stoked on cycling. I was pumped to ride today."
Making his GranFondo Whistler debut, Garland said he started to make his breakaway from the peloton with about 16 km to go and never looked back en route to first place and the $3,000 top prize.
"Any big race I've ever won has always been solo," Garland said. "I knew the guys I was with quite well, so my idea was to really get going and see how the guys were feeling. It was really just testing their legs to see how they were, and I knew if I had to, I would suffer for the last 16 km. That's just what I had to do."
Adam Thuss of Stratford, Ont. (3:19:14) edged out Craig Jones in a sprint for second place, with Thuss picking up $2,000 for the runner-up spot and Jones earning $1,000 for third.
In the women's Giro, Team Local Ride's Jenny Lehman similarly had a big cushion at the finish with her time of 3:51:58. The rest of the pack started to file in 75 seconds later with Claire Cameron grabbing second place just ahead of defending champ Leah Guloien, who was third.
Several 麻豆社国产racers also fared well, with Max Saenger posting the best time of any local involved in the race. Saenger completed the course in 3:32:51, winning the male 40 to 49 division. Garibaldi Highlands resident Michael Roblin wasn't far behind, with a time of 3:33:14, finishing sixth in the male 40 to 49 group. The third-fastest local men's time was Squamish's Kelly Servinski, who posted a time of 3:39:28.
Local women also posted some impressive times with Brackendale's Brandi Heisterman, clocking in at 3:53:16. Heisterman finished ninth overall among Giro women and said she had a fun time in the race.
"I'm a mountain biker and we tend not to do too much work, but I did," said a smiling Heisterman. "I'm not going to just sit back. It was more exciting this year I had a great time."
Rua Read was the second-fastest local with a time of 3:53:35, while the third fastest local time belonged to Catherine Gendron at 4:04:08.
For complete list of Sea to Sky Corridor results, please see page A35.
With files from Eric MacKenzie, Whistler Question
