A day of triumph and a celebration of athletics was marred by tragedy on July 12 when three participants in the Okanagan Granfondo were hit by a vehicle on the course to Penticton, one of whom died at the scene.
Details around what happened are still scarce; other than a brief statement from the organizers, no more has been said.
"We are heartbroken by the incident that resulted in a fatality at our event today," reads the Granfondo's statement that was released a few hours after the incident. "Our prayers are with all those impacted, and we are especially grateful to the first responders and RCMP for their support."
The other two riders were taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The RCMP have also been tight-lipped. In response to a request for more information, they said that the matter was under investigation and nothing was being shared for the time being.
Both the local community and the cycling community are reeling from the death and injuries.
"We are devastated by the news of this tragedy and our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected," Mayor Julius Bloomfield said in a statement on behalf of council and the city. "In times like these, words often fall short. It's a time to come together with compassion and kindness, and to show support for those in need."
The Penticton Indian Band (PIB) also released a statement expressing condolences following the tragic incident at the Okanagan Granfondo.
鈥淭his is a profoundly difficult day for many. Events like the Granfondo are meant to unite us in celebration of community, health, and personal challenge,鈥� read a statement from Chief and council.
The cycling community in particular has been hard hit, with the death at the Okanagan Granfondo coming less than a week after members of the Cops for Cancer Tour de North were victims of , which proved fatal for one of them.
"What began as a morning dedicated to training for a cycling tour to raise awareness and support for children battling cancer and their families has resulted in a heartbreaking tragedy," said Gary Begg, the provincial Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
For cycling advocate and Kelowna Cycling Coalition treasurer and past president Landon Bradshaw, he hopes that these latest tragedies don't permanently taint people's perceptions.
"We, like anybody else, have become numb," said Bradshaw. "Every time we go out, and we ride our bikes in pretty much any setting, there's a chance it could be one of us. That mindset keeps people from getting away from their cars. In the Okanagan Valley and on these rural roads, cycling's is not normalized, so people aren't trained to see them, they're going too fast.
"It's a Catch-22; if we had more people cycling, then people around here would be used to seeing people and knowing what to do when they see a person a bike, but you can't get those people cycling until the people in the cars see them."
The Granfondo has had its share of close calls over the years; in 2019, a pile-up of cyclists nearly led to a crash with drivers in a scene caught on dashcam. In that case, no one was seriously injured, but other races events outside of the community haven't always been so lucky and that hasn't helped ground local drivers.
"It's like anything that that happens outside of our our valley, it's well, 'That's other people', you don't have to really think about it," said Bradshaw. "Well it's here. It's always been here, but we've been lucky, and we can't rely on luck."
Bradshaw pointed to the implementation of Vision Zero policies as one of the ways to improve the safety of roadways for drivers and cyclists, alongside supporting further safe biking infrastructure to get cyclists and drivers used to being next to each other.
"We can make changes to the way we design roads so that when people make mistakes 鈥� not 'if people make mistakes', because we know that it is a 'when'
鈥� that people don't die," said Bradshaw.
In the wake of the recent tragedy, the impact has already rippled out and affected another upcoming event, with additional safety measures for the Peach Classic Penticton Triathlon on July 20.
The organizers have secured additional signage for the race, as well as additional motorcycle escorts during the cycling and running sections of the event, on top of the full medical team and other measures already in place.
