June 10/15 9:31 am - Montreal GP Announces Criteriums added to 2015 Program

Posted by Editoress on 06/10/15
 

The Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes (GPCQM) - the only two competitions on the UCI WorldTour held in America - announce the addition of a national criterium to the program. This is a development competition for riders with a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) license in the Juniors, Espoirs and Élites (17 to 29 years old) categories.

On September 12th, Montréal and its Avenue du Parc (between Mont-Royal and Duluth) are the stage for a spectacular race welcoming more than 200 male and female riders. This news also heralds the return of women's cycling to international competition in Montréal - a first since the last World Cup in 2009.

For this sixth edition, the GPCQM continues the North American road cycling tradition by hosting the world's elite on the challenging Québec and Montréal courses, on September 11th and 13th. The events will not only be watched live by hundreds of thousands of spectators, but will also be seen in possibly a billion homes in 130 countries. The GPCQM are also the last races before the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States (September 19th to 27th). Two meetings of elite calibre cyclists on the same continent, only a week apart, suggests that the GPCQM is, once again, welcoming the absolute top riders.

"The addition of the Critérium National de Montréal is one of the initiatives launched by GPCQM in order to support the development of road cycling in this country and to encourage local cyclists and cycling in general. Riders can then enjoy the development of world-class road cycling, performing under the auspices of WorldTeams and ultimately having their expertise recognized worldwide," says Marcel Leblanc, GPCQM's Executive Vice-President. "This is also a great source of pride for our organization to welcome women riders. Our new circuit is an additional opportunity for these athletes to maximize their appearances on Canadian soil, which evolve at a national level and on professional teams."

"Women's cycling is enjoying wonderful visibility, and that awareness is allowing its popularity to grow. Women's races being held alongside competitions for men, impressive media coverage, and increasingly exciting primes all point to a real evolution in this arena," underscores Lex Albrecht, professional cyclist, member of the Canadian national team as well as the professional team Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. "So GPCQM's announcement of a national criterium in Montréal is great news! It's an important opportunity for North American riders to compete in a race organized by a UCI WorldTour event promoter. Some riders will even have the pleasure of riding in their home town."

The GPCQM Critérium National de Montréal takes place on two, 60-minute courses to crown the men's and women's champions at the foot of Mont-Royal, on Saturday, September 12th. The course is a 1.1 km loop, ridden at breathtaking speeds, with men covering 40 laps (44 km) and women covering 30 (33 km).

Whether it's creating the Critérium National de Montréal, or inviting the national Canadian team and Steve Bauer's Continental Pro team (Spidertech 2011-2012) to the Québec City Grand Prix and Montréal Grand Prix and to the Challenge Sprint Pro, GPCQM provides local riders with world class experiences. In this spirit of promoting the sport to up and coming riders, GPCQM recently announced its association with the Fédération Québécoise des Sports Cyclistes (FQSC) in order to financially support the Coupe du Québec Espoirs de cyclisme sur route (9-16 years old) and a preparation phase for the Junior and Espoir categories in order to get ready for the Canada Games (July 11th and 13th). GPCQM has also developed a training program to offer young riders the chance at the incredible opportunity to be part of these major events.

Press release (edited)