November 05, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – Cycling Canada released on Monday the domestic and international road cycling calendar for 2013, which features once again prominent races for the next season, such as the 2013 Canadian Road Championships in St-George de Beauce, QC and Lac Mégantic, QC, as well as the return for a fourth year of the UCI WorldTour Grands Prix Cyclistes in Québec and Montréal.

The Tour of Alberta, a UCI 2.1, seven-day stage race, is making its debut in 2013, and will become Canada’s top road race on the domestic calendar outside of the WorldTour. The race is expected to bring some of the best professional cycling teams to Canada. The Tour of Delta, a well-known race in British Columbia, is also making its debut on the UCI calendar.

The Tour de Beauce is also back, and is one of Canada’s most prominent races. The Tour de Beauce has been on calendar for more than 25 years and is highly attended by many professional teams from all across the world.

In addition to these high-profile Elite races, many events also allow for the development of up-and-coming cyclists such as the, the UCI Nations Cup Saguenay, the Tour de la Relève international de Rimouski and the Tour de l’Abitibi, all staple races on the international road calendar.

For Women’s cycling, the Chrono Gatineau and Grand Prix cycliste de Gatineau make a return for a fourth consecutive year. The international races for Women’s professional cycling have attracted top women to the National Capital region for this set of high-end races.

“Once again, the 2013 road race calendar will be exciting with lots of great races all across the country. The strength of Canadian cycling has grown greatly over the last decade, and these races play a significant role in the development of our future stars by providing exposure to the international peloton,” said Mathieu Boucher, the director of development at Cycling Canada. “We are highly confident that our race organizers will once more deliver top-notch events across the board.”

2013 ROAD CYCLING CALENDAR
May 18-20 – Chrono Gatineau & Grand Prix cycliste de Gatineau [Elite Women] – Gatineau, QC
May 26 – eQuinelle Grand Prix [Elite Men, Women] – Kemptville, ON
June 6-9 – Coupe des Nations Saguenay [Nations Cup, U23 Men] – Saguenay, QC
June 11-16 – Tour de Beauce [Elite Men] – Ville St-George, QC
June 20-23 – Canadian Road Championships [Elite, U23] – Ville St-George, QC
June 26-30 – Canadian Road Championships [Junior, Master, Para-cycling] – Lac Mégantic, QC
July 7 – Tour de Delta [Elite Men] – Delta, BC
July 16-21 – Tour de l’Abitibi [Junior Men] – Val d’Or, QC
July 31 – Grand Prix cycliste de Rimouski [Junior Women] – Rimouski, QC
August 1-4 – Tour de la relève internationale de Rimouski [Junior Women] – Rimouski, QC
August 10-17 – 2013 Canada Games – Road cycling – Sherbrooke, QC
Sept 3-8 – Tour of Alberta [Elite Men] – Edmonton, AB
Sept 13 – Grand Prix cycliste de Québec [WorldTour, Elite Men] – Québec, QC
Sept 15 – Grand Prix cycliste de Montréal [WorldTour, Elite Men] – Montréal, QC