Port Coquitlam, BC – July 16, 2019…Sunny weather, night races and a family-friendly street festival greeted the over 10,000 people who gathered in Port Coquitlam Friday for the fourth annual PoCo Grand Prix presented by Dominion Lending Centres.

Port Coquitlam’s largest city-hosted event transformed the downtown with a 1.3-km race circuit, free live entertainment and children’s activities, a Kids’ Race, the Biz Expo tradeshow, food vendors, beverage garden, VIP experience for sponsors, and more. 

Changes this year included a tighter schedule and later start time – with the first races starting at 4:30 p.m. – along with exciting night-time races under the lights, a change in course direction, a larger Kids Race, a thriving Entertainment zone and more spectators donating to crowd primes.  The event is part of BC Superweek, which took place July 5 to 14 in six Metro Vancouver cities and is Canada’s largest professional road cycling series.

“This event brings such an exciting energy to Port Coquitlam with over 400 kids taking part in the kids race, families dancing to live music in Leigh Square and pro racers whizzing through our downtown,” said Mayor West. “I also want to give a heartfelt thank you to the team of volunteers, all our sponsors and our downtown businesses who help make the event happen.”

Highlights include:

• Over 10,000 people in attendance throughout the day,
• Close to 200 elite and pro men and women riders with teams representing Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong and the United States. The best Canadian male rider was 17 years of age.
• Close to 430 riders from ages 3 to 12 in the Kids’ Race, using the pro track,
• About 200 volunteers involved at the ground level, doing everything from setup and takedown to marshalling, fencing, fundraising and first aid,
• Close to 20 Biz Expo vendors, and
• Over thirty sponsors, including presenting sponsor Dominion Lending Centres.

Public interest in the event continues to grow. Attendance rose from 5,000 in 2016 to 7,500 in 2017 to over 10,000 in 2019, with people coming and going throughout the event based on what activities interested them.

“While extending the Kids’ Race this year gave even more kids a chance to participate, we will be looking to further increase our numbers next year as we had many kids on a waitlist,” said Cllr. Glenn Pollock, the Council designate for healthy communities. “This event is a great way for families and young people to develop a love for the sport of cycling. It was also a proud moment for me to watch my granddaughter cross that finish line.”

Many of the 2019 sponsors returned from previous years, including presenting sponsor Dominion Lending Centres, gold sponsors Phoenix Truck & Crane and the Giggle Dam Dinner Theatre. Silver level sponsors included Arctic Meat and Sausage, PoCo Dental Group, TELUS, the Tri-City News, the Nick Polessky Family, Mahony & Sons, Ventana Construction Corporation and Architecture 49.

In the months to come, the city will complete a thorough review of the 2019 event to identify ways to continue to improve for next year including expanding the Kids Race, encouraging more host families for riders and businesses to get involved.

Photos and racer standings can be found at www.pocograndprix.ca. 

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MEDIA CONTACTS

Pardeep Purewal
Manager of Communications & Admin Services
City of Port Coquitlam
Tel 604.927.5335 Cel 604.218.0533
Email purewalp@portcoquitlam.ca