Kyle Boorsma was at the front of the pack when all was said and done after a cold and wet RBC GranFondo Giro on Saturday.
The 29-year-old's tire crossed the line first as five racers were bunched within two seconds of one another after the 122-kilometre race from Vancouver's Stanley Park to Whistler's Blackcomb Way West.
Boorsma, a native of Guelph, Ont., finished in a time of three hours, 10 minutes and 18 seconds (3:10:18), finishing less than a second ahead of Courtenay's Nigel Ellsay and Castlemaine, Austrailia's Lachlan Norris.
"It's a strong field with a lot of great riders out there to do battle against. I feel like it was an amazing day for our team (Toronto Hustle) out there. It wasn't just me. I'm going to step on the top step of the podium today, but really, it's a team effort," Boorsma said shortly after crossing the line. "A lot of those strong guys didn't have teammates in the race so if we can put our guys up the road to put pressure on them and make them work, then we can shadow them. We're in the wheels taking a bit of a rest so when it comes to the key moment, we just lay (it) down."
On the women's side, Vancouver's Haley Gill earned herself more of an advantage, finishing 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the women's pack, which had six riders within three seconds of one another.
Fellow Vancouverite Sara Bergen and Reading, Calif.'s Emma Grant earned the other two podium positions.
Gill was thrilled to have broken away for the win after needing to reel in Bergen and Olympian Jasmin Duehring at various points between Squamish and Whistler.
"I visualized that. I wanted that. But I had to make it happen," she said. "I found myself at the front with about 10 or 12 km to go. I didn't really want to be there but no one would pull through. I got off the front and with about six km to go, I just went for it."
Full results are available at www.granfondowhistler.com.
