The Tour de Delta is a three-day cycling race and community festival in July that’s part of the BC Superweek series of bike races in Metro Vancouver.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, no BC Superweek cycling races happened in the summer of 2022. This marks the third consecutive year that the Tour de Delta is cancelled. Hopefully it can return in the future, although it’s not looking likely.
Tour de Delta
In 2020 the Delta event was scheduled to take place on the weekend of July 10th to 12th, but was then was cancelled due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus outbreak. The 2021 and 2022 Tour de Delta were also cancelled for the same reason. In years when the event does happen, it features cycling races, family-friendly activities and a couple of festival events.
Details are to be confirmed about whether the event ever happens again. Unfortunately there’s a good chance that it won’t.
This article includes information about the following topics:
About BC Superweek | Tour de Delta Races | MK Delta Criterium | Ladner Criterium | White Spot Delta UCI Road Race | North Delta Criterium Festival | South Delta Community Festival | Other Information
Click on any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading to learn all about the Tour de Delta event.
About BC Superweek
The Tour de Delta is the first of a series of six major cycling races in the Lower Mainland in July. The other five road bike races include the Gastown Grand Prix, Giro di Burnaby, PoCo Grand Prix, New West Grand Prix and Tour de White Rock, all of which are very interesting to watch.
The BC Superweek competition is one of North America’s most prestigious professional cycling series of races and attracts cyclists from across the continent. With over $120,000 in prize money, the series features nine races over 10 days including three in Delta, two in White Rock and one each in the other three locations.
Tour de Delta Bike Races
When it happens, the Tour de Delta is made up of three different races – the MK Delta Criterium on the Friday, Ladner Criterium on the Saturday and the White Spot | Delta UCI 1.2 Road Race on the Sunday.
Each race has its own characteristics and takes place on a different route and in a different location. On the first day of races there is a small community festival and on the last day there is another.
MK Delta Criterium
The MK Delta Criterium takes place in North Delta and comprises between 30 and 40 laps around a 1.2-km route. There is a steep downhill section in one area and at some point cyclists race at over 70 km an hour. Being fast-paced and a fairly short loop, this race is an especially exciting one to watch.
MK Delta Times and Location
The MK Delta Criterium start and finish lines are at 84th Avenue just west of 114th Street in North Delta. The Women’s Race usually starts at around 6:30 pm, includes 35 laps and has a total distance of 36 kms. The Men’s Race begins at around 7:40 pm most years, goes for 40 laps and is 48 kms long.
Ladner Criterium
The Ladner Criterium races take place in downtown Ladner on the Saturday. The starting line is at the corner of 48th Avenue and Haviland Street. The races start at around 4:00 pm and include a short Men’s Race, the Women’s Pro 1/2/3 Race and the Men’s Pro 1/2 Race.
Being in the heart of Ladner Village with a loop of just under 0.75 kms, the Ladner Criterium is also an exceptionally exciting competition for spectators.
White Spot | Delta UCI 1.2 Road Race
The third race in the Tour de Delta competition is the White Spot | Delta UCI 1.2 Road Race. It’s on a course that takes place in Tsawwassen by Dennison Park.
The start and finish lines for this particularly long and challenging race are at Dennison Park at 755-53 Street in Tsawwassen. The women set off at around 9:30 am and go for eight laps or just over 105 kms. The men depart at around 1:00 pm and do 12 laps or just under 158 kms.
The White Spot | Delta UCI 1.2 Road Race is also a fun race to watch. However, being that the route is over 100 kms long and cyclists go around the route just 10 or so times, there are fairly large periods of time between laps.
Tour de Delta Festival Events
In addition to the above three days of races, the Tour de Delta also features a couple of small community festivals, with one on Day One of the event and the other on Day Three.
North Delta Criterium Festival
The North Delta Criterium Festival is usually on the first day of the Tour de Delta.
The festival is a free family-friendly event that takes place at 11339-83rd Avenue in North Delta at the Richardson School grounds between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm. At the festival there is face painting, arts and crafts activities for children, food vendors and other sports-related activities and things to see.
South Delta Community Festival
The South Delta Community Festival is a slightly larger event and takes place in Delta at the cycling race venue at Dennison Park at 755-53rd Street at the end of the weekend’s series of races.
This festival is also free and runs from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. It includes award presentations, a beer garden, food vendor stalls and family-friendly activities like a children’s bicycle obstacle race, bouncy castle, face painting, entertainers and games.
In 2019 the South Delta Community Festival took place on Sunday, July 7th. It’s unclear if the festival is happening in 2024, although exact details are to be confirmed.
Other Information
For information on other BC Superweek cycling races in July, click Vancouver Cycling Races.
For other events taking place this month see Vancouver’s Best Places’ July Calendar, and for a list of other major events at different times of the year click Festivals and Events.
