June 30, 2010 (Montreal, QC) – The Canadian National Team participating at the Grand Prix Cycliste ProTour races in Quebec City and Montreal is 15-strong including eight members of Canada’s only UCI Continental Team, SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy. Steve Bauer, SpiderTech’s team director, will manage Team Canada at both ProTours here – the exciting news was announced at a press conference on Tuesday in Montreal.

We talked with Bauer immediately following the press conference. He was upbeat that so many of his riders would be racing, and if there was any disappointment that his SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy team would not be wearing their team colours as hoped, it was not apparent.

“It is an enormous goal to participate at such a high level sport and this has been 100% of our focus for some time. We asked the UCI to adjust its rules to take the North American market into account,” Bauer told us. “But the UCI is quite rigid in the way that it does business.” [note: SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy, which does not have ProTour status, is unable to participate in such a high level race according to UCI rules. The fact that it is Canada’s highest ranked team in a country where the UCI wants the sport to grow didn’t seem to change anything]

“The talent pool in Canada is growing. We are seeing increasing numbers of young riders doing well on a national level like David Boily and Guillaume Boivin. The time is now and we are raising the bar. The biggest obstacle to developing the sport is [the lack of] opportunity and we are leading by example.”

“Not all of the members of the national team are from SpiderTech because I don’t have all of the best Canadian riders on my team. But I would like to!”

“The Road Nationals [recently held in Edmonton] were a disappointment, but I am still very happy with how well SpiderTech has done. At one point we were the third or fourth highest ranked UCI Continental team in the world.”

“We are close to achieving ProTour status. We are pushing other partners already and we are close to it [Bauer said earlier it’s a question of about $3 million]. We hope to achieve this by September 1 when the fees, contracts and documents are due.”

“The race in Montreal is not quite the same as the one I won in 1988 [then called the Grand Prix Cycliste des Ameriques], but it’s similar. Top road guys who ride smart are likely to win. It’s not a climbing race but rather an all-rounder’s race. I’m not a climber, but managed to ride in front all day. This will not be a passive race.”

“Canadian riders will have somewhat of a ‘home turf’ advantage, but it will not take long for top European riders to get used to the Quebec City and Montreal circuits. But you might see some Canadians on the podium.”

Commenting on Lance Armstrong’s (Radioshack) recent announcement that 2010 will be his last Tour de France, Bauer said, “I’d give him a chance. Lance is very disciplined. He could podium again and he might even win it. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) is also to be watched. This year will be exciting!”

2010 Canadian National Team – Grand Prix Cycliste ProTour Québec-Montréal

– Francois Parisien (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Ryan Roth (Ont) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Martin Gilbert (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Charles Dionne (Que) Fly V Australia
– Will Routley (BC) Jelly Belly Cycling Team presented by Kenda
– David Veilleux (Que) Kelly Benefit Strategies
– Ryan Anderson (BC) Kelly Benefit Strategies
– Andrew Pinfold (BC) United Healthcare
– Rob Britton (BC) Cycling BC
– David Boily* (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Guillaume Boivin* (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Andrew Randell (Ont) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Bruno Langlois (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Eric Boily (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy
– Derrick St. John (Ont) Garneau-Club Chaussures-Ogilvy Renault
– Keven Lacombe (Que) SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy

*=U23