Thousands of cyclists hit the pedals Saturday morning for the 14th annual Gran Fondo Whistler for the 122-kilometre event.
Organizers said they are implementing lessons learned from a rough 2022 event, where riders took to social media to voice their displeasures, mainly a lack of food at stations.
“Last year we had a few challenges with aid stations and supporting the back-end of the event,” Neil McKinnon said, Gran Fondo Whistler’s president.
“We ran out of food and had some bad choices of food at some spots. That won’t happen this year. We took it to heart, we took all the feedback and we put in place a very robust program to make sure all the athletes get to Whistler safely and replenished.”
Around 5,000 riders are expected to be participating in the event, which is a gruelling trip from Stanley Park along the Sea-to-Sky Highway finishing in Whistler Village, an elevation gain of roughly 1,900 metres.
“Our singular focus this year is the athletes’ experience … we worked so hard to make sure all of our supports went directly to the athletes,” McKinnon said.
Participants are from more than 40 countries across the world, ranging from youth-aged riders to riders in their senior years. The event will last all day in Whistler with live music and a big party for riders.
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