December 15, 2006 – Quebec City has elected not to host the prestigious European race, the Critérium International (CI) in May 2008 as part celebrations surrounding the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding by Samuel de Champlain and settlers from France according to Veloptimum.

An Agence France-Presse report indicated that the Critérium International, which is put on the organizers of the Tour de France, will be held in the Ardennes until at least 2009. The Ardennes is a forested region shared by Belgium, Luxemburg and France. According to bicycle lore, the expression “hardened” cyclist was born when an Englishman misunderstood a Frenchman saying that a cyclist was from Ardennes.

According to Veloptimum’s Guy Maguire, “The Critérium was originally offered to Quebec City as a “consolation prize” for not obtaining the start of the 2008 Tour de France. But the CI was finally turned down as the event was not prestigious enough to justify the cost.”

A Radio Canada report yesterday claims that a changing of the guard at city hall lead to the outcome. Current mayor, Andrée Boucher, reversed a decision by her predecessor, Jean-Paul L’Allier, who was a strong supporter of the CI.

It was Jean-Marie Leblanc, the former director of the TdF, who introduced the possibility of holding the Critérium International in Quebec City in May 2008.