October 1, 2009 (Montreal, QC) – Three press conferences were held simultaneously this afternoon in Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa, to announce details of the two ProTour World Cup races to be hosted in Quebec in 2010. Pedal attended the Montreal conference at City Hall. Before the conference started, we spoke to Bernard Arsenault (brother of ProTour organizer Serge Arsenault) the organizer of the Montreal Marathon. He promised no surprises since our Sept. 4 interview with his brother who described the 190km race in Quebec City scheduled for Sept. 10, 2010, a 210km race in Montreal on Sept. 12 and a 100km+ U23 race on September 9 – click here.

In Montreal, the head table consisted of Steve Bauer (Canada’s most acclaimed cyclist), Gerald Tremblay (Mayor of Montreal), Serge Arsenault (president of the two ProTour races), and Michael Applebaum (Montreal Executive Committee Member for Sports and Recreation). But before the panel began to speak, a large video was turned on.

A large screen beamed in UCI president Pat McQuaid, with a short announcement apparently filmed yesterday. McQuaid said that the Sept. 10 World Cup race in Quebec City and the Sept. 12 World Cup race in Montreal are the first ProTour events that will be held in North America. He also stated that Serge Arsenault’s events will be of “superb quality.”

2010 ProTour Press McQuaid


Also streamed in were the simultaneous conferences from Quebec City and Ottawa. The Quebec City head table panel consisted of Sam Hamad, (Quebec Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity), Régis Labeaume (Mayor of Quebec City), Louis Garneau (businessman and former Olympic cyclist), and Pierre Harvey (former Olympic cyclist and cross-country skier).

The Ottawa panel included Josee Verner (federal Minister of the Francophonie), Jacques Landry (CCA Chief Technical Officer), and Denis Lebel (federal Minister of State Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec). We learned that the federal government has invested some $900,000 in the two races.

Many of those who spoke talked about the globalization of cycling, a sport that used to be confined to “the old Europe” but is now spreading to North America and other regions.

Bauer, who finished fourth at the 1988 Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for 9 days in 1990, described the two ProTour races as “quelque chose d’extraordinaire”. He went on to say the two races were as “worthy of any championship in the world,” noting they involve some 3,000 metres of climbing. He believes that the races will inspire young Canadian rider to achieve their objectives during their careers.

Montreal’s Mayor Tremblay talked about the investment that his city is making, but that he sees “unlimited economic spinoffs” from the investment noting that Montreal will be highlighted on Eurosport television during the ProTour race there.

Serge Arsenault thanked everyone who had worked so hard on this project since October 2008, especially in the federal, Quebec, Quebec City, and Montreal governments. Particular thanks were extended to Quebec cabinet ministers Raymond Bachand (Finance) and Nathalie Normandeau (Natural Resources). Arsenault quipped saying, “Whoever thought that working with all these government offices would be so easy.” He noted that many people in Europe had also helped secure the two ProTour races. “The best riders in the world will be there. And because these are World Cup events, riders will gain more points here than at the TdF or the Giro.”

Arsenault also pointed out that “nobody else has ever received two UIC ProTour licenses before adding that each mayors’s upport was key to getting this approval.”

During the question period that followed, some journalists tried to pin Arsenault down about a future ProTour event near Boston, but all he would say is that Boston was very close to Quebec City and Montreal and the idea made sense.

Mayor Tremblay, eager to promote his city’s Bixi rental bikes, quickly pointed out that Boston was buying 2,500 Bixis. “But I wouldn’t want to race 200km on a Bixi,” he conceded.

Arsenault went on to explain that cycling is the best sport for showing off a city’s natural beauty with sweeping television shots of the skyline, parks and waterfront. He went on to say that Quebec City is the most beautiful in Canada and then looked sheepishly at Montreal’s Tremblay who took the joke in stride.

After the conference, we spoke to Josee Laroque, co-manager of the Planet Energy team with Bauer. We asked if she was thrilled by Martin Gilbert’s stage win at the Tour of Missouri. Of course everyone was thrilled with Gilbert’s victory, especially since Planet Energy was the final team invited to that race. Laroque described in some detail the teamwork that was needed by Keven Lacombe and Guillaume Boivin to put Gilbert into the top spot. But then she laughed about the downside of the win – it occurred just as the team was negotiating with Gilbert about his 2010 salary!

Also present at the conference were Planet Energy riders Boivin, Gilbert, Lacombe, Frank Parisien, and we also spotted FQSC director general, Louis Barbeau.