Start with a famous coastal road televised worldwide during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Add 4,075 cyclists, male and female, aged 19 through 76, from hardcore to casual, locals and visitors. Toss in moving mechanical and medical support, food zones, flaggers, hundred of volunteers and a traffic lane dedicated to riders. Finish off with cheering spectators, buzzing helicopters and worldwide broadcasting by photographers, videographers and social media.
The result?
The first Vancouver-Whistler GranFondo mass bicycle ride, held. This remarkable September 11 event embodied why Vancouver is a perfect sport tourism destination.
A “granfondo” bicycle ride is typically more than 150 kilometres, involves 10,000 riders and is the closest most recreational riders get to a world-class cycling experience. After storming Italy, the granfondo phenomenon is spreading across North America, and now, Canada.
Marketing wisdom declares: make people desire what you have to sell. If there’s one thing Vancouver has to sell, it’s our natural, outdoor playground as an ideal year-round home for sport tourism.
The Vancouver-Whistler GranFondo is the brainchild of two Vancouver entrepreneurs, Neil McKinnon and Kevin Thomson, of TOIT Events.
What possessed a couple of 40-somethings to run the big risks inherent in such an undertaking?
McKinnon said, “In the events business, you’re always looking for trends and ways to differentiate yourself.”
In 2007, cyclist McKinnon experienced an Italian granfondo. “Standing in line with 13,000 other cyclists … the energy was amazing.”
He brought home the idea of matching the concept on our Sea-to-Sky Highway, then under heavy construction.
For three and a half years, McKinnon and Thomson organized the GranFondo, aided by 18 full-time staffers. Thomson was the operational master who studied, drove, biked and analyzed details of the Sea-to-Sky highway.
Driven by the idea of “owning” a new event, their idea sat at the confluence of demographics, environmentalism, hard work, luck, Olympics and, especially, huge growth in bicycling. They benefitted from superb new Olympics infrastructure and world-class city marketing.
Vancouver cycling is almost as hot as the riders – male and female, fit and fast, flying along on upscale road bikes, wearing colorful outfits that dazzle and delight. For 40- to 65-year-olds especially, biking means health, connection, entertainment and corporate bonding.
The self-financed GranFondo won solid financial support from the Royal Bank of Canada, other top sponsors and a constellation of partners.
The 2010 GranFondo barely broke even, partly because participation was under-priced to true cost. Surely the business gamble will yield later profit: 2011 Whistler GranFondo registrations are half filled. In early October, organizers will announce their July 2011 Okanagan GranFondo.
It cost $500,000 to ensure riders the unique experience of a dedicated Highway 99 lane.
Though not quantified, one can imagine the other costs. Organizers bought and placed, pre-dawn, 15,000 orange highway pylons. One hundred and eighteen flaggers kept traffic flowing safely; 45 medical staff served on motorcycles, bikes and at aid stations; 47 police and RCMP officers of five jurisdictions ensured everyone was safe.
Our West Coast climate provides a consistent environment for sporting experiences ranging from hiking, golfing, sailing, diving and fishing to whale watching, off-roading, biking and skiing. Our Olympics-stimulated tourism infrastructure serves participants and supporters well, as they lodge, shop, dine and entertain themselves.
GranFondo riders mainly came from an affluent demographic: stable, family-oriented, with time to train and travel – classic sport tourism participants.
Sport tourism yields sustainable, incremental business for cities - mainly measured by hotel room stays.
“The GranFondo had a real impact on us” said Philip Meyer, general manager of the Wedgewood Hotel, a passionate cyclist and leader of the 50-strong Wedgewood Hotel Cycling Team, Cycling BC’s reigning club of year team. “We were solidly booked, despite the supply of hotel rooms available post-Olympics.”
It seems that if you build a great experience, they will come. McKinnon is bullish about B.C. sport tourism.
“We have everything in our backyard. We just have to let the world know about it.”
