June 3, 2011 (St Catharines, ON) – Team SpiderTech, Canada’s only pro-continental cycling team, has one goal in mind for the 2011 UCI 2.2 Tour de Beauce: to win. And to do so, they are bringing up their top guns to the start line, including 2008 winner Svein Tuft of Langley, BC as well as three riders who posted Top 10 results in last season.

“There is no doubt in our minds: our goal for the 26th edition of the Tour de Beauce is to win the general classification. We have the riders to do this. We have posted great performances in our European races in the spring classics, and won a jersey at the recent Amgen Tour of California,” said Steve Bauer, Directeur sportif for Team SpiderTech.

Svein Tuft, the 2008 Tour de Beauce winner and only Canadian to have won the race since 1995, will be leading Team SpiderTech at this 26th edition of the Tour de Beauce, surrounded by David Boily, the 2010 Best Young rider, François Parisien, Canada’s top rider at the 2010 edition, Pat McCarty, the recent King of the Mountain at the 2011 Amgen Tour of California, Zach Bell, the 2010 Track Omnium World Cup Champion, Bruno Langlois and Andrew Randell.

“Tour de Beauce has always been a special race for me. It was the race I took my first professional win, back in 2001. It was also a race where I realized I could be a GC contender in shorter stage races,” explained Tuft, captain of Team SpiderTech powered by C10. “This race is crucial for the development of our younger Canadian riders as it is the closest you can get to a true European style race and is also known as one of the hardest stage races in North America. I’m very happy to be coming back to the Beauce region with a strong team.”

Pat McCarty will be gunning for the King of the Mountain title at the Tour de Beauce. Fresh off an amazing performance at the 2011 Amgen Tour of California, the Texan rider has shown he has the talent to accomplish this task. Stage three is where he will shine, with the category 3 climb at the Mont Megantic National Park ending the race.

The tour includes a 20-km time trial race, held June 17. Svein Tuft, the 2010 Canadian Time Trial champion, Zach Bell, François Parisien and David Boily will be primed for a good performance during the Stage 4 solo race in St-René.

The Team SpiderTech riders felt good last season at the Tour de Beauce, with three riders in the Top 10 – Ryan Roth, François Parisien, and David Boily. In addition, two riders – Parisien and Roth, placed amongst the Top 10 in the time trial.

The 2011 Tour de Beauce offers a total of 750 kilometres of road to be conquered in six stages. There are five official jerseys to be won: Yellow jersey (Race leader); Polka-dot jersey (Best climber); White jersey (Points); Red jersey (Best young rider); Blue Jersey (Best rider at Ville de Québec stage).

For more information on the Tour de Beauce, visit www.tourdebeauce.com

Team SpiderTech p/b C10
– Zach Bell – North Vancouver, BC [2011 Omnium World Cup Champion, Track]
– David Boily – Québec City, QC [2nd, 2010 Canadian Championships, U23, Road]
– Bruno Langlois – Québec City, QC [3rd, 2010 Canadian Championships, Road]
– Pat McCarty – Austin, TX, USA [KOM, 2011 Amgen Tour of California]
– François Parisien – Repentigny, QC [Winner, Stage 2 – 2010 Vuelta Mexico]
– Svein Tuft – Langley, BC [Silver Medallist, 2008 UCI Road World Championships, Time Trial]
– Andrew Randell – Toronto, ON [2nd, 2010 Canadian Championships, Road]

Stages at the 2011 Tour de Beauce
– Stage 1 – June 14 – Lac Etchemin-Lac Etchemin (165km)
– Stage 2 – June 15 – Thetford Mines-Thetford Mines (162km)
– Stage 3 – June 16 – Saint-Georges-Mont Mégantic (153km)
– Stage 4 – June 17 – St-René (Time Trials 20km)
– Stage 5 – June 18 – Urban course, Ville de Québec (125 km)
– Stage 6 – June 19 – Urban course, Ville de St-Georges (125km)

Jerseys at the 2011 Tour de Beauce
– Yellow Jersey – Race Leader, General Classification
– Polka-dot Jersey – Best Climber
– Red Jersey – Best Young Rider
– White Jersey – Points Leader
– Blue Jersey – Winner, Ville de Québec Stage