May 28, 2010 (Gatinueau, QC) – The upcoming La Grande Visite de Gatineau featuring two UCI events, an ITT on June 12 and road race on June 13, is looking to become a mainstay on the Canadian calendar and eventually replace the long standing Montreal Women’s Road World Cup that was cancelled for 2010 if race organizer John Large has his way.

“We’ve got great city support and excellent representation for the women’s ITT and road race with teams like Webcor, HTC Columbia, TIBCO and Specialized Mazda Samson, but we need two more men’s teams for the ITT to meet sanction requirements,” said Large. “With an $8,000 purse we’re excited about these UCI races and hope to build this event into a regular top-level stop on the Canadian calendar.”

Jelly Belly, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis, and a team from Holland have signed on but organizers need five teams to meet their UCI requirements and according to Large, “The teams do not require UCI Continental status which means many US squads qualify. We need to find a dozen more heavy hitters.”

The 7th edition of La Grande Visite de Gatineau runs from June 11-13 with the and also features cycling events for the whole family.

Contact johnlarge@primus.ca for more information or visit www.grandevisitedegatineau.com.