PCC athletes compete in Vancouver

PCC athletes competed in the Gastown Grand Prix and the Tour de Concord last weekend in Vancouver. Both races were good learning experiences for Tristan Drews (Red Truck Racing) and Abigail Drews (Red Kilo Racing), while Holly Simonson (LA Sweat) and Brenna Pauly (Red Truck) worked on their respective team strategies. Holly won the women’s race at the Tour de Concord.

“Gastown is always my favourite race of the season,” said Holly. “The atmosphere is unmatched, and having so many friends and family out supporting was really special. I felt really good and was able to get some big primes along with the help of my teammates. It was also exciting to return to Vancouver a few days later and take the win at the Tour de Concord. I am happy all my work training can come to fruition in some close to home high calibre events.”

There was a lot of prize money in both races and no dominant team as has been seen in the past, which opened up the field for others.

“Gastown is always a special race with the crowds and many supporters cheering your name out on course,” said Brenna. “With primes from the get go it took me a few laps to settle into the pace. About halfway through my legs came around and I was able to move to the front. My goal was to stay close to some of my other teammates and help set up Kimberly for the sprint at the end.”

“The Tour de Concord was another opportunity to line up for a competitive prize purse,” she added. “I was super happy with how I was able to race with my teammates to help two of them lap the field. It was a real team effort out there ending with my teammates in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.”

Abigail is racing this weekend at the Marymoor Grand Prix track race in Redmond, Washington. Tristan is racing in Europe for the rest of season and Holly and Brenna are gearing up for the Tour de Gatineau  UCI 1.1 race from September 19-21.