February 29, 2004 – Last October, Hamilton hosted what is considered to be one of the best organized Road World Championships by the international cycling community. All of the conditions for success were met: An excellent course; all events were supported by enthusiastic spectators, approximately 230,000 took in this great event; the competitors where never at risk thanks to solid security; the media facilities where said to be some of the best ever witnessed; the VIPs and the teams had nothing but praise for the event; a great deal of success of the Championships must be attributed to the support of thousands of enthusiastic volunteers; there was a great collaboration between City services, police, federal and provincial governments, and the Host Organizing Committee which resulted in an event that was planned to perfection; finally, we must not forget that we had incredible cooperative weather! The Hamilton Community will benefit even more from the dedication and hard work of all those involved in the 2003 Road World Championships. Thanks to the event's success, there was a significant profit left behind that will be dedicated to the development of Road cycling in Canada, Ontario and Hamilton. The perfect ending that the Canadian Cycling Association had dreamed about has now become a reality.
The Legacy will provide young athletes support through coaching services, a proper training environment, and international competition scholarships all helping to develop their potential in their quest to become the next Michael Barry or Sue Palmer.
The CCA in collaboration with the OCA will work towards the implementation of programs and services in Hamilton from the grass roots level to the Elite level. In addition, we would like to see a Legacy event every year on this spectacular course fully integrated in the North American Racing Calendar. Without a doubt, Hamilton proved to the world that cycling is strong in Canada and we look forward to continue building on the momentum left behind by the 2003 Road World Championships.