September 3, 2008 (Ottawa, ON) – On September 4, the inaugural Tour de Québec will launch inside old Quebec fortifications. These ramparts surrounding Old Quebec are the only remaining fortified city walls in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the “Historic District of Old Quebec”.

The prologue consist of a 250m, drag race style, sprint toward the Portes St-Jean fortifications where two riders will face each other to set the fastest time and wear the leader jerseys presented by Champion System.

You are invited to the team presentation at 6:30pm, on Rue St-Jean, just next to the Place d’Youille. The first racers will be at 7pm.

The other stages include a 14-lap, 131.5km road race around the Cap Tourmente, at Saint-Joachim with a 2.5km hill finish. Saturday features a technical criterium around the parliament in downtown Quebec City with a finish on the Canadian Champs élisées (the Grande Allée) followed by another criterium at Lévis along the St-Laurent river. Le Tour de Québec will end Sunday, Sept. 7 with a 140km road race in St-Augustin.

This North American cycling stage race is sanctioned by the FQSC, and teams from Canada and the United States are competing. For the confirmed riders list click here.

With four distinctives jerseys Le Tour de Québec is also open to other categories. The Elite women’s race will consist of the final three stages of the Pro 1-2 Men’s race. The women’s race is open to professional women teams as well as cat 3 and junior women riders. The juniors, masters and senior 3-4 are all mixed up in another OPEN men field. There are four leader jerseys for every field — the leader’s jersey, best young rider jersey, best climber jersey and best sprinter jersey.

For a Race Guide pdf click here.