A well-known Prince George cyclist has died suddenly at the age of 47.
Kris Yip grew up in Prince George and spent most of his life racing.
He previously qualified to represent Canada at the 2022 UCI Esports World Championships because of his performance at the Pan Am Selection Race where he finished 11th overall.
“Kris Yip is a local that has always called Prince George home and he has an impressive cycling resume that includes National Championships, International victories, and Olympic Qualifiers. Although he has never been to the Olympics, Kris is getting a chance to represent Canada at the 2022 UCI Esports World Championships in February,” said the Prince George Cycling Club in an article they wrote about Yip last January.
The club said that growing up in Prince George, Yip was able to make the most of his opportunities and started racing competitively at the age of 15.
He qualified for the junior provincial team and also rode on the junior national team and competed in a number of International Stage races throughout North America and Europe.
In his last year as a junior, Yip won both the National Junior Road Championship and National Junior Criterium Championships. The latter was in spectacular fashion with Yip beating out a teammate by a half-wheel length. With the start of his senior career, Yip also found himself based out of Quebec riding with the national senior team there for several years.
“I still called Prince George my home,” Yip told the cycling club. “While on the national team, we were based out of Quebec. Through the racing season we would travel from there into the States and elsewhere.”
He was also fortunate enough to do a stint in Europe during his career with stops in Spain and France.
Yip's passing was also reported on in Canadian Cycling Magazine as he was known as an accomplished athlete and one of the country’s elite cyclists with a great enthusiasm for the sport.
The Prince George Cycling Club cancelled its Fatbike events this weekend and instead held a celebration of life in honour of Yip at Forests For the World.
The group honoured Yip with a ride, barbeque, and refreshments. The cause of Yip’s death is not known at this time.
