June 29/10 11:17 am - Teams Announced for Quebec & Montreal ProTour Races

Posted by Editoress on 06/29/10
 

With 75 days to go before the Montréal race, Grand Prix Cycliste ProTour Québec - Montréal today announced the names of the teams that will take part in the two prestige events on the International Cycling Union (UCI) ProTour to take place on Québec soil, on September 10 and 12, 2010.

In addition to the 18 UCI ProTour teams confirmed for the two races, the organizers have now revealed the four cycling teams that have been chosen as wild-card entries. They are BMC (including reigning World Road Race Champion Cadel Evans), Cervélo, Bbox Bouygues Telecom (with France’s 2010 National Road Race Champion Thomas Voeckler) and Cofidis.

Rounding out the peloton will be a Canadian national team: the organizers have asked the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) to put together a national team featuring the country's best riders. Selection of riders will be by the CCA in association with Steve Bauer, who has been appointed directeur sportif of the national team for the occasion. The full list of teams entered in the Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes is listed below.

"The granting by the UCI of two additional ProTour race licences is in itself outstanding news. Being able to present these two races in the cities of Québec and Montréal for the next five years is a huge privilege. People from Québec and elsewhere in Canada will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see these élite road racers compete in their backyard, for free, with iconic heritage sites as backdrops: Old Québec City and the Plains of Abraham, as well as Mount Royal," said Serge Arsenault, President of Grand Prix Cycliste ProTour Québec - Montréal.

"The design of the Québec City and Montréal courses bring together all of the technical challenges needed to push these skilled riders to their limits as they attempt to conquer them," he added.

"It is a great honour for me to place my experience at the service of the Canadian team as they prepare for these races at the top world level," said Steve Bauer, directeur sportif of Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy.

"The experience of the ProTour circuit is sure to benefit our Canadian athletes. Competing against the best riders on the planet will help them raise the calibre of racing in this country," he added.

Bauer, who is universally regarded as the greatest Canadian road racer of all time, won the inaugural Grand Prix des Amériques race, run on Mount Royal in 1988.

The organizers have decided to incorporate a charity component into the event programming. In Montréal, the Leader's Club, created in association with the Cedars Cancer Institute, will raise funds for the MUHC and the CHUM. The 100 members who enrol in the Leaders Club will enjoy preferential access to the race stands as well as several other benefits. The official
announcement of the charity component for the Québec City race will be made in the next few weeks, in the company of Mayor Régis Labeaume.

In addition to the four public-sector partners that are making this historic event possible (Cities of Québec and Montréal, Provincial and Federal governments), the organizers are pleased and proud to introduce the four sponsors who will help ensure the success of the events' inaugural editions. They are the Mouvement Desjardins, Kia Canada, Air Transat and Via Rail.

Notes:  Based on conversations with riders, the following riders have been confirmed by their teams as participating:  Cadel Evans and George Hincapie (BMC), Dominique Rollin (Cervélo), Svein Tuft (Garmin-Transitions).  Also, the top riders of RadioShack, since they are not participating in the Vuelta.  Lance Armstrong, however, is not confirmed.

Team List

ProTour

AG2R La Mondiale
Astana
Caisse d'Epargne
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Footon-Servetto
Française des Jeux
Garmin-Transitions
Lampre-Farnese Vini
Liquigas-Doimo
Omega Pharma-Lotto
Quick Step Cycling Team
Rabobank
Sky Professional Cycling Team
Team HTC Columbia
Team Katusa
Team Milram
Team RadioShack
Team Saxo Bank

Wild Card (Pro Continental)

BBox Bouygues Telecom
BMC Racing Team
Cervélo Test Team
Cofidis

National Teams

Canadian National Team powered by SpiderTech

Courtesy Organizers