April 13, 2008 (Montreal, QC) — Details were released on Thursday, April 10 about the 11th annual Montreal Women’s Road World Cup (MWWC) and the seventh edition of the Tour du Grand Montréal (TGM) at a ceremony in Montreal City Hall. The occasion saw Daniel Manibal, president of the MWWC with honorary president, Francine Senécal, vice chairperson of Montreal’s executive committee, speaking about the May 31 MWWC and the associated June 2-5 TGM stage race. Manibal and Senecal were flanked by Michel Gilbert, Sergio Pavone and Richard Goulet, respectively the mayors of Granby, Chateauguay, and Mont St. Hilaire where various stages of the TGM will take place.

Manibal is also the key person behind the proposed Montreal-Boston stage race that was to be held for the first time in 2007 and attract Tour de France calibre riders. The event was “postponed” until this year, yet Montreal-Boston is nowhere to be seen on the 2008 UCI North American calendar, nor did Manibal mention anything about it on Thursday. When Pedal asked about the Montreal-Boston race, Manibal replied, “no comment.” Despite this, we believe that an announcement is pending about this race for 2009. Montreal-Boston is an ambitious project that involved stages in Quebec, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

The MWWC is one of nine women’s road world cup events and the only one in North America. Senecal noted that women’s sports have not yet achieved the same level of media attention as men’s sports, adding that Montreal was lucky to have such a world cup event. She urged the population to turn out in great numbers and cheer on the world’s top female cyclists, referring both to the MWWC and the TGM.

Last year’s winner of the 110.66km race, an 11 laps of a 10km circuit up and over Mount Royal, Fabiana Luperini (Menikini-Gysko) of Italy will be back in 2008 to defend her title. American Mara Abbott (High Road) placed second last year while German star, Judith Arndt (High Road) was third. It is unknown whether Dutch rider Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) – who won the overall 2007 series – will also be present in 2008. Another name mentioned at the press conference was France’s, Jeannie Longo (Uniqa), a thirteen-time world champion who has participated at six Olympic Games and is turning 50 this year. Longo holds the title for longevity in cycling and remains a top contender in international competitions.

Among the top Canadian riders competing at these two events are Alex Wrubleski (Webcor), Gina Grain (Webcor), Anne Samplonius (Cheerwine), Erinne Willock (Webcor), Karol-Ann Canuel (Specialized Carrefour Multisports) and Joelle Numainville (ESGL-GSD Gestion). The Montreal Women’s Road World Cup is the final opportunity for riders to qualify for Canada’s 2008 Beijing Olympic team.

Other teams expected at the 2008 MWWC include the Australian National Team, Cervélo-Lifeforce, the Cuban National Team, Nurnberger Versicherung, and the Polish Cycling Federation. About 120 riders will compete in 2008, down slightly from 140 in 2007.

Thomas Liese, who completed at the 2003 Tour de France and is Team Lipton’s Directeur Sportif, is the new technical director of the women’s races.

On hand was top German rider Thomas Liese, a former Tour de France rider, and now the technical director of the MWWC and the TGM through June. Liese, 39, completed the 2003 TdF with Bianchi, helping team mate Jan Ullrich to finish second that year. “The 2003 edition was very special,” said Liese, “because it celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Tour. Farmers along the Tour route painted their cows yellow, red, or with polka dots!”

Perhaps the best news for MWWC 2008 was the addition of new sponsors including ESKA bottled water, Isotonic (a new “natural” sports drink) by the Naturiste, and Nutrisoya by Natur-a. MWWC press secretary, Jacinthe Lemire, told Pedal that it is relatively easy to get new sponsorships from companies which do not advertise heavily on TV. A variety of tasty salads were served at the event by another sponsor, Fontaine Sante. A dozen private companies sponsor the two events, together with four municipalities, ten media sponsors, three Quebec ministries, along with Sport Canada.

For more information visit www.world-cup-cycling.org.