This year wasn鈥檛 the first time Squamish鈥檚 Jack Burke rode the Whistler GranFondo.
He first tried it in 2015 but was one of the unlucky ones whose tires were punctured by tacks on the course.
鈥淚 had actually just moved out here,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was the one race my parents had come to watch.鈥�
With a clear path this time, the rider got out to a lead early and really did not look back from there.
Not that it was easy. He found himself out of water as he readied to make the climb toward Whistler.
He asked an incredulous commissar about stopping for water not once but twice. The first aid station was not yet set up with water, though at the second a young guy came toward him with a bucket of water to cool himself down.
Getting off the bike those couple of times he compares to a Formula 1 driver getting out of his car to change his own tire.
鈥淭his was pretty ridiculous,鈥� he says with a grin.
Still, he had built up enough of a lead to be able to cross the finish line unaccompanied, though he wonders whether he could have cut much more time off his record-setting 3:12:52 for the Giro event.
At 21, he鈥檚 already had some ups and the occasional down 鈥� most notably, a strange case in which he tested positive in 2013 for hydrochlorothiazide, a drug used to treat high blood pressure. The controversy dogged him for a year and eventually had to go before the governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) where he was later cleared in a precedent-setting case.
鈥淚t was the worst time of my life,鈥� he says.
One of his brighter moments recently has been winning the B.C. Time Trial Championships in late May.
He also points to winning the time trials and setting a course record at the Tour de l鈥橝bitibi in Quebec in 2013 as his biggest highlight so far.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 considered the junior Tour de France,鈥� he says.
While the GranFondo is not a UCI event, its purse still attracts top riders to the Giro portion, which adds to the appeal of competing.
鈥淭he Fondo鈥檚 a lot of fun,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou get a lot of really big names.鈥�
Though he is still relatively new to Squamish, he already knows the GranFondo course well, as he heard someone at a local bike shop comment it was no surprise he won as he knows the Sea to Sky Highway better than anyone. Even through the winter months, he will spend five to eight hours a day training and points out that if anyone sees a cyclist with lights riding the highway or surrounding roads in any weather, it is most likely him.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how many times I鈥檝e been at the top of Mount Cypress at midnight,鈥� he adds.
Originally from Toronto, Burke moved to town to come to Quest University, and his family followed him out.
Early on, he started with mountain biking but switched to the road, though he still gets on the trails every so often.
鈥淚 still touch my mountain bike one in a while,鈥� he says.
While road cycling has some similarities with mountain biking, it did require him to approach a bike in a different way, particularly in how to ride as part of a team, especially with specific roles such as climbing or sprinting.
鈥淭he engine is there. You just need to teach the driver how to drive a different way.鈥�
It becomes all the more important in multi-stage races where different sections of the course mean riders adapt to different roles and priorities.
鈥淵ou have one rider that you鈥檙e looking after the entire day,
聽he says.
Burke also rides a dirt bike and goes fishing when he can.
Still, except for these couple of weeks in late September, he spends much of the year training or competing on his cycle, along with attending classes.
鈥淚 get two weeks off out of the entire year,鈥� he says.
