April 20, 2007 (Montreal, QC) – For ten years, Daniel Manibal has been bringing top-level road cycling competitions to this country and done more than his part to boost the visibility of cycling in Canada.

“It’s a lot of work,” admitted Manibal to Pedal yesterday, describing his daily schedule organizing four upcoming UCI events this summer: the Montreal Women’s Road World Cup (June 2); the Tour du Grand Montreal (June 4-7); the Tour de PEI (June 10-14); and the Montreal-Boston race (August 5-12). “I’m working 70 hours a week and when I’m not working, I’m worrying,” he joked. Manibal is organizing his tenth edition of the World Cup and his sixth edition of the Tour du Grand Montreal, but 2007 will see the first edition of PEI and of Montreal-Boston. Manibal mentioned that with his increased visibility, come increased responsibilities of being careful about what he says.

When asked about a recent report in the Journal de Montreal claiming that the Montreal-Boston (men’s ) event was still seeking the final $1 million of its $ 7.5 million budget, Manibal insisted on focusing on the three women’s events, which are more imminent on the calendar, rather than talking about Montreal-Boston.

“I’m now promoting the three women’s events and don’t want to overshadow that by talking about Montreal-Boston. We have two new stages at Grand Montreal and organizing PEI is complicated by the fact that it’s not next door. The emphasis is on those events. The World Cup alone requires a budget of $800,000 to $1 million and the three women’s events together require about $3 to $4 million.”

“Organizing a cycling event is very different from organizing a hockey game, for instance. We have no gate and can’t boost ticket prices if we need more money. We can’t sell hot dogs either! Our money comes either from the government or from sponsorships. We’re dependant on the cooperation of various municipalities and access to public roadways. There’s a lot of politics involved and our (public image) is extremely important.”

Manibal admitted that finding sponsorships for most sporting events in Canada is not easy. “It’s not part of our culture here in this country,” he explained. Hockey is the exception, and it drains a lot of money away from other sports.

Hockey also creates a standard that cycling stars are judged by. When Quebec cyclists Genevieve Jeanson and Lyne Bessette were very much in the news, journalists grilled them the same way they would have done to hockey players earning $3 million a year. “But those girls were only earning a tiny fraction of a hockey player’s salary and didn’t have the same ability or experience to respond to the media,” remarked Manibal.

When asked how recent doping scandals have affected the task of finding sponsors, Manibal took a positive spin on the situation. “The fact that (these guys are getting caught) proves that cycling is catching cheaters. The efforts of the UCI are bearing fruit. Every level of society has its problems,” he added. “This is a snapshot of societyÅ “

“Obviously sponsors are more careful now (about who they associate with), but the sponsor will never say to me point blank that they are leery because of the doping scandals.”

“In the USA, things are different with sponsorships. There is a lower level of taxation and less government involvement and different perceptions.”

Manibal mentioned that there is a press conference on the PEI race scheduled for Tuesday, the 24th. Pedal will have more news then. Reply | Reply All | Forward