Gastown Grand Prix

Skyler Schneider wins her second Gastown Grand Prix. Marcos Mendez becomes first South American racer to be crowned champion

On a perfect Vancouver summer evening, over 150 of the best bike racers in North America took to the streets of Gastown to compete for over $50,000 in total prize money in the 53rd anniversary edition of the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix. The crowd, estimated at 25,000, was lined up five deep along the finish straight barriers making for one of the most memorable editions of the race in years.

After the next generation of bike racers warmed the crowd up with youth races for riders under 19, it was time for the Pro Women’s race featuring an international field packed with national champions, Olympians, and past winners. The L39GION of LA team, led by powerhouse sprinter and former Gastown champion Skylar Schneider came in as favourites alongside Kiwi Bryony Botha (Fearless Femme), fresh off winning the overall title in the 2026 Tour of America's Dairyland criterium series. European-based Canadian racer Sidney Swierenga (Liv AlUla Jayco Women's Continental Team) was racing without teammates but would show that she was a constant danger having just won the best young rider jersey in the Tour of Portugal.

As the 40lap (48km) race unfolded, the experience of The L39GION of LA showed as Samantha Schnieder and teammate Holly Breck kept the group together defending against a series of attacks which whittled the 70 starters down as racers couldn’t match the fierce pace. With the lap count below 10, race tactics came to the fore with teams having to decide between going for the crowd prime of over $3200 awarded with two laps to go or sprint for the first-place prize of $12,000 on the last lap. Laurel Rathbun (Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing) snagged the crowd prime and admitted after the race that it has been her goal with her teammate and former Mexican champion Yarely Salazar aiming for the final sprint.

Skylar Schneider sent her teammates to the front of the pack to set the tempo on the last two laps, and while it was it could have been seen as an early start for the lead out toward the finish, Schneider held for the win, her second Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, and the $12,000 first prize just ahead of Bryony Botha (2nd) and Yarely Salazar (3rd). Reflecting on the win, Schneider said that was easily one of the hardest races of the year, with every team bringing their “A Game” for the prize money on offer.

The 50 lap (60km) men’s race followed a familiar Gastown pattern with a strong breakaway group of riders forming mid-race with the hope of staying away to the finish, only to be caught near the end. This year’s breakaway included roughly 10 riders headlined by pre-race favourite Luke Lamperti (EF Education), who seized the opportunity to try and break the stranglehold which L39GION of LA had put on the race shown when Tyler Williams snuck away solo to collecting nearly $2000 in primes while his teammates patrolled the front shutting down attacks. The breakaway was helped by a crash at the Cordova Street hairpin which took down several riders including 2026 US Pro Criterium Champion Luke Elphingstone (Project Echelon).

When the crashed riders rejoined, the chase was well and truly on and the break was finally reeled in, this time with less than 10 laps to go. L39GION of LA again showed their strength in numbers, throwing all five riders to the front in anticipation of the $3200 crowd prime and $12,000 first place prize. Other teams had other plans, though, and the crowd prime came down to a bike throw at the line between Lamperti and Luke Fetzer (Team Cadence Cyclery powered by Waldo Racing) with Fetzer snatching the prize and losing his sunglasses as he celebrated.

Lurking near the front waiting for the final sprint was Argentinian track dynamo Marcos Mendez (Foundation Cycling New York) who had saved his energy through the race aiming for the final sprint. When he came around the last corner, accelerating toward the finish line at the Steam Clock, there would only be one winner and he took first place ahead of Cade Bickmore (Team Cadence Cyclery powered by Waldo Racing). Recently crowned Canadian Criterium Champion Jayden McMullen (TAG Racing) snatched 3rd place to complete the podium in what was another spectacular edition of one of North America’s oldest and most famous bike races.

Courtesy Gastown GP