The return of the Gastown Crit

A small piece of background: this is the biggest race in Canada and had not happened since 2008 but was back for 2012. I had heard good things: this was a bit wild.

Apparently closing down a number of streets in downtown Vancouver on a Wednesday leads to some congestion. Good thing we arrived early.

Unloading bikes in front of the Fairmont Hotel on the waterfront. The guys got to enjoy 5 star accomidations after the 5 star crit Wednesday night.

The crowd behind the pit. I had to part the crowd and jump the fence just to get set up. The guys from Vancouver Bike Gallery were a huge help in making that happen.

The field lining up at the start. Dan is in the foreground saying hi to his host dad from Delta.

Corner 4, headed into the finish. So many people!

One more crowd shot as they lined the finishing straight for the final sprint. Apparently 35,000 people were on hand to watch.