July 11/24 9:39 am - Stites & Schneider Win Gastown, Barraclough Top Canadian in Second

Posted by Editoress on 07/11/24
 

A pair of American riders took the top spots on Wednesday evening in the women's and men's Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, in Vancouver, with both Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) and Tyler Stites (Project Echelon) winning their races in solo breakaways. Ngaire Barraclough (Boneshaker p/b Orange Seal) was the top Canadian finisher, second in the women's race. Sam Morris (Hustle Pro) was the top Canadian in the men's race, in fifth.

Women
During her post-race interview with announcer Andrew Pinfold, Miami Blazers sprinter Skylar Schneider used the word "incredible" to describe her experience at this year's Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix. It also summed up her 30-lap, 48-kilometre performance perfectly as the 25-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin broke away from the peloton with one lap remaining to win the historic race and the $12,000 cheque that goes along with it.

There was a bit of confusion on how many laps remained in the race with two to go, such that even Schneider and the other riders needed to figure out where they were at. "Yeah, I had a feeling there was a miscount with the laps, so I asked my sister (Samantha), 'Is this the last lap?' and she said yes."

Schneider, who was atop four podiums last month alone, plus last week's Boise Twilight Criterium, went for it once she knew the finish was close. "I sprinted and looked and saw the bell being rung - which felt a little bit like a nightmare - but I just kept going. It didn't sink in until right now because I wasn't sure what in the world was happening," said Schneider, who was the 2023 Pan American Road Continental Championship gold medalist representing the United States.

Both Schneider and her older sister Samantha have experience riding in Gastown, including very early in their careers. "I think it may have been 10 or 11 years ago I came here with my sister and our dad and our team from Wisconsin, and I thought - wow, this is the coolest race I think I've been to ever, and one day it would be really special to win that."

As veterans of the course, Skylar, Samantha, and teammate Alexi Ramirez, who was the 2023 Trinidad and Tobago national individual time trial and road race champion, did not have any allies in the race, but knew what to expect. "We came in with a few different game plans. And in the end, it worked out."

"(We were) a small but mighty squad. My older sister Sam and Alexi from Trinidad are both incredibly strong and when they look at me before the race and say, 'We're in this for you', it makes me feel like, 'Yeah, I need to get this done for them'," described Schneider. "Every single lap we checked in with each other and the communication was strong. We really love coming to Vancouver and we wouldn't have missed this."

As a result of the confusion on the final two laps of the race, officials awarded third place finishes to both Ottawa, Ontario's Ivanie Blondin of Team Goldman Sachs ETF's and Victoria, B.C.'s Katja Verkerk, riding for Physical Culture, and the two shared the podium spot. In second was Boneshaker p/b Orange Seal rider Ngaire Barraclough, who hails from Canmore, Alberta.


Men
It's not uncommon to see a mass of riders sprinting for the finish line in the men's race at the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, but for the first time in 20 years, one rider - Tyler Stites - built a sizeable gap with four laps to go and rode to a solo victory on the 42-lap, 60 kilometre circuit in front of more than 20,000 fans on Wednesday night.

Stites and his teammates were aggressive from the get-go. The 26-year-old Stites admitted that was part of their strategy and it paid off with a 1-2 finish for him and his teammate Scott McGill. Stites takes home not only the $12,000 prize purse in one of North America's richest criteriums, but Project Echelon captured their fair share of primes as well - including the crowd prime.

"Our plan was just to make the race as hard as possible for everyone. We didn't want it to really come down to a sprint because there's some good sprinters here. So, we were just attacking constantly throughout the whole race, and it was hard," said Stites, who now has 10 podium finishes this year.

Despite criterium racing not being his specialty, Stites sure looked comfortable on one of the most prestigious criteriums in North America. "This is a special crit for sure. I mean, it's hard, the pavement is bumpy and there's a bit of a hill right here (on Water Street), so it's not your average crit and I liked it a lot," explained Stites - the runner-up at this year's U.S. National Championships individual time trial.

Stites didn't spend much time in the peloton during the race, and the raucous crowd lining the streets of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhood played a role in him going up the road. "I was just enjoying the crowd so much, they pumped me up. I wanted to attack and test my legs out today and I had a lot of fun," added Stites, adding his Gastown title to others at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, Tour of the Gila, and Tour de Beauce.

In a tight sprint behind Stites, McGill placed second and Austin Outlaws rider Lucas Bourgoyne finished third.


Results