July 9/25 17:21 pm - 39th Gastown GP Takes Place Today

Posted by Editoress on 07/9/25
 

In just a few hours, one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious one day races will take place for the 39th time for men and 31st for women - the legendary Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix in Vancouver. This year, the race is offering over $50,000 in combined prize money and primes.

Founded in 1973 by a local bike racer, Roger Sumner, the Gastown Grand Prix has regularly attracted professional riders from across the continent along with crowds of 20,000 to 30,000 spectators.

The Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix starts with the Youth Race at 5:10 p.m. (all times Pacific), followed by the official opening ceremonies at 5:55 p.m. The pro women's race begins at 6:15 p.m. while the pro men take the course at 7:30 p.m. The official award ceremonies are set to occur around 9:00 p.m. at the start/finish line at the corner of Water St. and Cambie St. in historic Gastown.

Live streaming of the men’s and women’s races is available on the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix website at globalrelayggp.org

This year's fields include the following riders:

Men

Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon)
Bickmore, a 12-time US collegiate national champion, is coming off a strong showing at last month's Kwik Trip Tour of America's Dairyland where he racked up three top-10 finishes to wind up tenth in the general classification. The 27-year-old Tucsonan won the points classification at the UCI 2.2 Tour of the Gila last year and in 2023. He narrowly missed the podium at last year's Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, finishing fourth.

Lucas Bourgoyne (Cadence Cyclery)
Bourgoyne rides into Gastown as the current US National Criterium champion. The 24-year-old from Austin, Texas was third at the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix in 2024 and more recently, posted five podium finishes - including three wins - at the Kwik Trip Tour of America's Dairyland last month. Bourgoyne has no fewer than 11 individual criterium titles so far this year and 21 top five finishes in 34 races prior to this past weekend.

Alec Cowan (L39ION of Los Angeles)
Cowan, from Calgary, is the lone Canadian rider on the L39ION of Los Angeles men's team and has been with the squad since 2021. The 28-year-old was eighth at the Canadian National Championship Individual Time Trial last month, his fourth career top-10 finish in the race. The nine-year pro is a two-time stage winner at the UCI 2.2 Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step)
Lamperti has been on two wheels since he started riding dirt bikes when he was three years old in Sebastopol, California. The 22-year-old is a three-time US Criterium National Champion who also won three stages at the 2023 Tour of Japan. Lamperti has spent this year racing in Europe, finishing fifth in the 21st and final stage of the Giro d'Italia. He also had a second-place finish in March's Bredene Koksijde Classic in Belgium.

Cormac McGeough (Canel's - Java)
Although from Orondo in Washington State, McGeough represents Ireland internationally. The 28-year-old posted stage victories at the Vuelta Ciclistica Internacional a Guatemala both last year and in 2023. McGeough also won the Mountains classification at the 2022 Tour of Romania. He was second at the 2022 Ireland National Championship Road Race and owns three career UCI 2.2 titles, including one at the 2023 Tour de Beauce in Quebec.

Women

Ngaire Barraclough (LA Sweat Racing)
Barraclough, 22, is a member of the Canadian National Track Cycling Team and the reigning national champion in the Elimination, Points, and Madison events. The Edmontonian finished second at the 2024 Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix and had three top-10 finishes at the 2024 Tour of the Gila. Being an elite athlete runs in the family as her mother Sian represented Canada in field hockey and even claimed bronze at the Pan American Games in 1995.

Ivanie Blondin (AUTOMATIC | ABUS Racing)
Better known for her accomplishments in speed skating, Blondin has built an impressive athletic career, highlighted by a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2022 Winter Olympics and several World Cup podium finishes. She also took silver in the mass start event at the same Games in Beijing. On the bike, the 35-year-old from Ottawa is a familiar face at the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, having finished third in both 2023 and 2024.

Ariane Bonhomme (LA Sweat Racing)
From Gatineau, Quebec, Bonhomme has built a well-rounded cycling career that spans both road and track. She represented Canada in the road race at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and spent much of this past spring racing in Belgium, highlighted by a third-place finish at Belsele-Waas in June. On the track, Bonhomme, 30, is a three-time Pan American champion in the team pursuit (2017, 2019, 2023) and added the individual pursuit title in 2023.

Holly Simonson (LA Sweat Racing)
Now in her third year with LA Sweat, Simonson was the 2023 Canadian National Criterium Champion and raced in Belgium through April, May, and June this year. She won the 2023 Agency Grand Prix in her hometown of Victoria and took the BC Provincial Road Championships title in 2021. The 27-year-old will be extra motivated at the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, as it's a near-local race for her.