April 27, 2005 “” The St. Catharines Cycling Club is proud to host the 2005 Niagara-Hamilton Classic Stage Race “” sponsored by Cramaro Tarpaulin System and Nella Cutlery and Food Equipment. This year’s Niagara-Hamilton Classic features the classic road race in Pelham on Sunday, May 22 followed by a downtown Hamilton criterium on holiday Monday, May 23.

The road race will take place in the historic and picturesque Town of Pelham. The course will be on roads familiar to Ontario road racers, however the course is completely new. A challenging, winding and rolling 12.3-km course through the vineyards and orchards of Ontario’s Fruitland has been created with a start/finish atop Saylor’s Hill.

The criterium will consist of the return of bicycle racing to the downtown streets of the City of Hamilton on a course similar to that used for the 2003 National Championships criterium race. Riders will enjoy the downtown racing atmosphere and the long races. If numbers warrant, the women’s field will have their own race.

Designated as a stage race, riders can only sign up for both stages. Online registration is available at www.canadiancyclist.com until midnight, May 17th. (There will be NO race-day registration.)

The road stage of the Niagara-Hamilton Classic will also be used as criteria for the Canadian Games Selection. More information will be posted shortly.

For more information on the Niagara-Hamilton Classic, please visit www.stcatharinescc.com. A technical guide can be downloaded from the St Catharines Cycling Club website (very soon) or the OCA website.