The Vancouver Island Performance Youth Racing Squad (VIPYRS) concluded their inaugural road and track cycling season in style at the B.C Provincial Track Cycling Championships at the Westshore Velodrome in Victoria last weekend.
This year’s provincial championships took place 20 years after the Velodrome first opened in 1993 in preparation for the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Created for the purpose of encouraging youth participation and performance in road and track cycling on Vancouver Island, the VIPYRS became British Columbia’s first ‘youth only’ road and track cycling club. The team had considerable success in its rookie season, with riders claiming championships and podium placings at every major race it attended this season – in both Canada and the United States.
In addition, the VIPYRS took on the task of hosting B.C.’s first Provincial Youth Road Cycling Championships to feature full U13/U15/U17 and U19 categories for male and female riders, and with solid sponsorship support provided more than $3,500 in prizes to these young riders.
The season concluded on a high note for this exciting new young team at the provincial track championships, with both Jess Reynolds and Mark Grant of the Comox Valley pulling on provincial championship jerseys for the U15 female and male Omniums (five sprint and endurance events combined). James Grant claimed silver in the male U17 Omnium and in both the U19 Keirin and Sprint championships. VIPYRS rider Brodie Hay of Nanaimo won bronze in the U19 Sprint championship.
The VIPYRS would like to thank all of their friends, supporters, and sponsors, and look forward to an exciting season of cycle racing and encouraging youth participation next year! Any young cyclists wishing to get involved in road or track cycling should visit the VIPYRS website at www.vipyrsracing.com and contact the team.
– VIPYRS