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American champion at home at Burnaby Giro

Daniel Holloway also won Burnaby 4Day event at the velodrome earlier this year
Tom Berridge
Daniel Holloway
American criterium champion Daniel Holloway won the Giro di Burnaby in a sprint down Hastings Street.Jennifer Gauthier

 Daniel Holloway is making a strong case to become Burnaby’s favourite son.

The 28-year-old U.S. national road criterium champion won the 2015 Giro di Burnaby in a final sprint to the finish down Hastings Street on Thursday, posting his second win at B.C. Superweek after beginning the week with an earlier victory at the UBC Grand Prix on Tuesday.

“It’s good to be back (in Burnaby),” said Holloway, who shared a Burnaby 4Day omnium title racing with teammate Jacob Duehring for the Burnaby NOW team earlier this year. “It takes a village, you can’t do this without community support.”

mens Giro
The Giro di Burnaby drew the largest field of competitors to the Burnaby Heights this year. - Jennifer Gauthier

Holloway, who was racing with support from Altovelo-SeaSucker teammate Aido Illesic, overcame a determined charge by the Quebec-based Silber Pro Racing team, which had as many as six riders in a lead pack with three laps to go on the 1.3-kilometre street circuit in Burnaby Heights.

“(Illesic) was phenomenal,” said Holloway after the race. “We’re a fighter-pilot team. It doesn’t matter if he goes down, we go down fighting.”

The u-turn at the bottom of Hastings Street and then the uphill into a stiff headwind all race long hurt any opportunity for a breakaway, said Holloway.

“It made the race strange. It takes a committed group to do it,” he added.

Single and mini breaks formed throughout the 45-lap race but all attempts were eventually reeled back in after a lap or more by the peleton.

The Silber team made its move with eight laps to go, but were unable to successfully hold back the pack heading into the 200-metre straight-away down Hastings Street.

Daniel Holloway
American Daniel Holloway acknowledges the congratulations from the Burnaby Heights crowd after winning the men's stage of the Giro di Burnaby. - Jennifer Gauthier

Gastown winner Ryan Roth took the final crowd prime for Silber with a single lap to go, but faded to 51st place in the final sprint.

Holloway won the 55-kilometre race in a time of 1:18.52, edging runner-up Kristofer Dahl of Calgary, Racing for Team SmartStop, and last-year’s podium finisher Ken Hanson of the United Healthcare team at the finish.

“I think (Silber) just went ahead too early. They’re learning,” said Holloway. “They were half a lap away.”

The win was Holloway’s 21st win of the season, tying his road race win record from last season.

Earlier in Superweek, Holloway placed ninth at the Gastown Grand Prix. He did not ride in the final races at White Rock in the week-long series.

In the men’s category 3 and 4 crits, Burnaby’s Alan Zoller had a best eighth-place finish at the Tour de White Rock on Friday. Zoller, cycling as an independent, started the week placing 11th in the Tour de Delta on July 11 and then finishing in 13th spot at the UBC Grand Prix.