November 16/06 8:57 am - Premont & Santa, L'Equipe cycliste Vallee de l'aluminium Team Launched

Posted by Editor on 11/16/06
 

Father Christmas and Marie-Helene Premont Team Up
By Amanda Leigh Cox

At Québec City's Galeries de la Canardière on November 25th, Father Christmas and Olympic Silver Medalist Marie-Helene Premont will greet young and old alike in preparation for a healthy holiday season.

From 9:00 am to 10:30, a free healthy breakfast will be offered to children under12 years of age. Every adult who purchases a breakfast will be contributing to the Club des Petits-Déjeuners, as a portion of cost of the meal will be donated to the charity. At roughly 11:00 am - weather permitting, of course - Father Christmas will make a grand entrance, this year to be celebrated with exercises and games. Premont will of course be signing autographs as she accompanies the 'Man in Red' throughout the day


L'Équipe cycliste Vallée de l'aluminium Is Launched
by Amanda Leigh Cox

In keeping with the explosion of growth in Quebecois cycling, a new UCI team has recently been launched, with Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean as its home base.

L'équipe Vallée de l'aluminium, which features Senior Elite as well as Junior Men and Women's classes, has been granted a UCI license, which will allow the Elite team to participate in international level continental (North American) competitions such as the Tour Bell de Beauce and the newly unveiled Montréal-Boston. The new team will be directed by well-known and talented rider Alexandre Lavallée, who in the coming weeks will determine each of the squads' 2007 season.

Alexandre Lavallée, a native of the Saguenay region, is pleased at this appointment as well as for the opportunity to develop the region's cycling talent, who in previous years had to look to Southern Quebec and the USA in order to realize their potential.

Joining Lavallée, as riders on the Senior Elite team are: Éric Boily, Raphaël Tremblay, Frédéric Boivin, Stéphane Cossette, Charles Thibeault, Simon Brassard, as well as Bruno Langlois, Mathieu Roy and recent third place Canadian Cyclo-cross competitor Mathieu Toulouse. Lavalléé forsees adding at least one more member to the team.

In the Junior Men's division of the team, Stéphane Cossette, Simon Brassard, David Maltais and Lenny Dion all made the cut, while amoung the Junior Women, Raphaëlle Chrétien, Janie Fortin, Gabrielle Duchesne and Mia Laberge will make up the ranks, with possible additional riders to be added as the season opens.