The organizers of the RBC Gran Fondo cycling race issued an apology Sunday after rest stations along the 122-kilometre route ran out of food this weekend.
The annual race sees the Sea to Sky Highway shut down to let the approximately 6,000 cyclists race from Vancouver to the finish line in Whistler.
Several racers shared their frustration on social media, saying the lack of food and hydration on the strenuous course put riders at risk.
“Never seen anything like it. If you’d told me I needed to bring my own food, I would have. It became a safety issue,” rider Dave Thompson tweeted.
One cyclist, who requested to keep his identity anonymous, snapped a photo of a green banana he received at the third rest stop near Alice Lake.
“It was tough,” he told Daily Hive. “Hot day and a lot of climbing without sufficient hydration and nutrients. I ended up finishing but definitely cramped up near the end.”
Race organizers confirmed food supplies were “partially exhausted” at three aid stations by the time some riders reached them.
“We are debriefing the situation internally to understand what factors caused this situation to happen after three years without incident,” organizers said in a tweet.
“Nevertheless, in the meantime we would like to directly apologize… and let you know that at times we did not meet the high standards you have come to expect from events we put on.”
— RBC GranFondo (@rbcgranfondo) September 11, 2022
It costs approximately $400 to race in the Gran Fondo, and some participants were disappointed in the lack of service given what they paid.
“I did the Forte and having no food for the first 65+ miles was a joke, especially for an event that cost $400 and promised ‘each rest stop on course is fully stocked with all the athlete nutrition you will need.’ Raw plantains don’t count as food,” participant Zachary Lee tweeted.
“Partially”? It was bone dry, I did the Forte and having no food for the first ~65+ miles was a joke, especially for an event that costed $400 and promised: “Each rest stop on course is fully stocked with all the athlete nutrition you will need.” Raw plantains don’t count as food
— zachary lee (@zach_l_lee) September 12, 2022
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“They were expecting food and hydration at the rest stations and didn’t prepare to go without,” Twitter user @karbohydr8s said. “You shouldn’t be able to sell tickets for a 7,000-person event without taking care of them.”
“Never craved for food like I did yesterday and actually managed to peel and eat the green, raw, tasteless banana,” first-time racer Lakshmi Narasimhan tweeted.
my first time and enjoyed the overall experience. Many riders including myself didn’t even bother to stop at 1st rest stop because we had to climb the exit. Never craved for food like I did yesterday and actually managed to peel and eat the green raw, tasteless banana.
— Lakshmi Narasimhan (@titansking) September 12, 2022
“As a longtime volunteer of this event, I thought it might be a bad sign of things to come when the start line didn’t even offer water. Even though they know that many riders cycle to the start line and depend on a water station to fill their bottles before leaving,” volunteer Debra Kato tweeted.
As a longtime volunteer of this event, I thought it might be a bad sign of things to come when the start line didn’t even offer water even though they know that many riders cycle to the start line and depend on a water station to fill their bottles before leaving. #bigfail
— Debra Kato (@debrakato) September 12, 2022
Other riders said they wouldn’t rely on the aid stations in the future and would pack their own water and food.
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