May 12, 2008 – Mayor David Miller officially launched the Toronto Criterium at the St. Lawrence Market today. The criterium, which is a short, closed-circuit race featuring sharp corners and speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour, will be downtown Toronto’s first professional bike race in 10 years. Canada’s top bike road racers are expected to compete.

Mayor Miller was joined by the Chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee Councillor Adrian Heaps, four time Olympic athlete Curt Harnett, Usman Valiante of the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada and race organizer Ziggy Martuzalski to unveil the first place trophy, and recognize the significance of the race.

“This is a terrific event for the City of Toronto,” said the Mayor. “It’s a way to get our citizens thinking about alternative modes of transportation, and to demonstrate that bikes are a fun, healthy, ecologically responsible way to get around.”

The Mayor went on to highlight Toronto’s long bike racing heritage. “Toronto hosted the Dunlop Trophy Race from 1894 to 1927. Now, the Criterium at the St. Lawrence Market is poised to become the City’s premier biking event.”

Paul Devries of LivClean agrees. As the top sponsor and amateur bike racer, Devries sees the event as “a first-class initiative that combines healthy living and a cleaner environment.” LivClean has provided prize money and sufficient carbon offsets to compensate for emissions created by all vehicles and energy used in setting up and running the race.

Councillor Heaps also expressed enthusiastic support, stating: “I’m incredibly excited to see bike racing return to downtown Toronto, especially in such an historic area. It’s shaping up to be a really great event. Many thanks to the race conveners, sponsors and City services personnel who are making it happen.”

“We’ve received phenomenal support from the City of Toronto,” added Usman Valiante. “The municipal government has removed obstacles at every turn, which is one of the reasons we were able to pull this off.’

The Toronto Criterium at the St. Lawrence Market will take place Friday, May 30, on a road circuit in Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market district (see attached map).

For more information, please visit www.torontocriterium.com