March 1/10 11:00 am - 2010 Para-cycling Road Worlds Moved to Canada - UPDATED

Posted by Editor on 03/1/10
 

Initially scheduled to take place in Cali, Columbia, from 12th to 22nd August 2010, the UCI World Para-cycling Championships will be relocated.

The road events will take place August 17th to 22nd in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Canada. The track races will take place in November or December; several potential organisers have been contacted by the UCI, which will shortly attribute this part of the event.

In parallel with the relocation of the World Championship competitions, the final round of the UCI Para-cycling World Cup, which was to take place in Baie-Comeau July 2nd to 4th, will take place August 13th to 15th in the same region, in Sept-Îles. The organiser of these two events is the same (Paramanic International).

The proximity - both geographic and date-wise - of the final round of the Para-cycling World Cup and the discipline’s World Championships will be an advantage for the participating nations: reduced costs, simpler logistics and acclimatisation to the time difference.

The UCI would like to thank the Baie-Comeau organisers, who, despite the relatively short deadline, have agreed to organise the road events of the UCI Para-cycling World Championships. On the other hand, it regrets the sudden and unexpected defection of the Columbian National Federation.

The Para-cycling World Championships, which this year will welcome some 325 athletes from more than 40 countries, have been organised under the UCI’s auspices since 2007. The competitions in the 2010 edition count towards qualification for the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) subsequently issued a release:

The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) wishes to offer its most sincere congratulations to Paramanic International, the City of Baie Comeau and the Town of Sept Îles and to all the partners involved for obtaining a stage of the World Cup in Sept Îles and the UCI World Championships for Road Para-cycling in Baie-Comeau.

The arrival of a stage of the World Cup as well as UCI World Championships of Para-cycling represent an incredible opportunity for the Canadian athletes, many of which are from Québec, to perform on home soil. These two events will allow our Canadian athletes invaluable points towards their qualification for the next Paralympic Games in London in 2012. Moreover, these events will have a significant impact on the visibility of para-cycling and the development of this sport in Canada.

John Tolkamp, CCA President, expressed the appreciation of the national body to the municipalities hosting the events and to the FQSC for their technical support and leadership of the para-cyling movement in Canada.  “We are seeing the growth of para-cycling across the country with Québec leading the way.  Events such as the World Cup in Sept-Îles and the World Championships in Baie-Comeau are further proof that Canada is developing para-cycling in a manner that the international federation (UCI) finds attractive.  Awarding these events to these two communities will make Canada, Québec and the Côte Nord the para-cycling centre of the world in 2010.”