Racers to take over Sea to Sky Highway
The Sea to Sky Highway will be awash in Lycra on Saturday as 5,000 cyclists ride from Vancouver to Whistler in the annual RBC GranFondo Whistler endurance event.
In order to hold the race, motorists should expect possible delays of up to three hours between West Vancouver and Whistler from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Race organizers are asking drivers to obey all traffic control personnel and be prepared to stop during this large cycling event.
During the 122-kilometre race, speed limits for cars will be reduced to 60 km/h on sections of Highway 99 between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler.
The Stanley Park Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge will be closed to northbound traffic, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Motorists are advised to use the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge. One southbound lane will remain open on the Lions Gate Bridge and the causeway.
Pro rider Will Routley, 30, recently returned from racing in Europe and he plans on riding in the event Saturday. He is hoping to have a time of about three hours and 15 minutes.
Routley was the 2010 Canadian Road Racing Champion and says he has raced all over the world and few rides are more scenic than the Sea to Sky Highway. And while the race is a challenge, Routley points out the course is something an average cyclist can handle.
“It is a nice mix of terrain,” he said of the hills on the route. Fondo races are popular in Europe, but Routley said it is his first. “It is new for me,” he said. And he thinks the popularity of the event is helping promote cycling locally.
“I’ve seen a huge increase in road cycling at home,” said Routley, who lives in Whistler.