The City of Burnaby is eyeing a return to hosting a summer bike race after two years of cancellations related to COVID-19.
The Giro di Burnaby is a race held on Hastings Street in the Heights neighbourhood as part of the BC Superweek series. The city is now working on how to activate an organizing team to ensure this year’s event takes place as COVID-19 restrictions are loosened.
“The Giro di Burnaby, named as a tribute to the area’s Italian community and to the world famous Giro d’Italia, made its debut in 2006, attracting 7,000 spectators,” says a city staff report. “The following year it joined the BC Superweek series, attracting more than 200 riders to the races over the next few years and producing a list of winners that includes some of North America’s finest cyclists. Due to the pandemic, BC Superweek was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and we are very excited for the return of the event in 2022. Currently it is unknown what the appetite for sponsorship is in the community as Burnaby recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and the latest variant.”
Many of the cyclists who participate in Superweek are international and their availability is still being determined, says the report.
“The cost of hosting the Giro di Burnaby is expected to rise and this will be identified in the budget,” said the report. “In the past, athletes have been hosted in homes to reduce costs, and we have supply chain issues and staff shortages that currently exist across all industries.”
A working group is now being formed to deal with funding and logistical issues, reporting back to council in the coming weeks, the report said.
