Vancouver neighborhood hosts Gastown Grand Prix

The historic Gastown in Canada's western city of Vancouver, a usually quiet and quaint neighborhood, came alive with cowbells and cheers on Wednesday evening as nearly 150 top cyclists competed at Canada's most popular and toughest criterium bike race.

The Gastown Grand Prix has the largest winning prizes of any criterium in North America, and attracts top cyclists from around the world.

Elizabeth Fong, a race volunteer, said the neighborhood provides a perfect setting for the game. "It's heritage," she said.

Mike Ablon, a racing fan said it was fantastic to be here.

"If you look at the streets, the cobblestones are pretty rough in a few places and got some real slick stones in the hard corners. So it' s going to be a tough race. Keep your balance and be safe going through it all," he told Xinhua.

The race has been held in Gastown since 1973, with an old-fashioned setting of narrow, cobbled streets lined with cafes and packed with tourists.

In the women's competition, 71 riders battled it out over 35 laps and 42 km at break-neck speeds. Tina Pic, a 50-year-old rider from the U.S. state of Utah, crossed the finish line first, taking home the 12,000-Canadian-dollar (9,200-U.S.-dollar) prize.

Pic, the oldest rider in the field, told Xinhua it was her third time at the Gastown Grand Prix and she came to the fourth place last year.

"It' s really fun, because it' s got a little bit of everything. It' s got like the cobble stones and the corners, like that whole backstretch is pretty tight, and it' s a long finish. So it' s definitely really unique," she added

The single-day race wrapped up later on Wednesday night, with Eric Young of Boulder, Colorado winning the men' s competition. Endi