In its first week of registration, 500 people jumped at the opportunity to ride in the Tour de Victoria with Ryder Hesjedal on May 28.
There are still one-third of the available 1,500 spots said race director Seamus McGrath.
Hesjedal is set to ride in his fourth straight Tour de France this summer.
Assuming a few more of Hesjedal’s cycling friends (world-class athletes) register, it means around 1,490 everyday cyclists can bump shoulders with the likes of triathletes Simon Whitfield, Jasper Blake, Beijing rowing medalists Jake Wetzel and Adam Kreek, and Canadian mountain biking legend and Olympian Andreas Hestler.
All be riding shotgun for the 140 kilometre gran fondo (mass ride) tour around the South Island, looping across the Peninsula through Sidney, North Saanich and Central Saanich.
The Tour de Victoria will be the marquee event of the Victoria International Cycling Festival from May 28 through June 26.
Registration, maps and other information are online at www.tourdevictoria.com.
sports@peninsulanewsreview.com