June 11, 2007 (Quebec City, QC) — Quebec City’s Louis Garneau Velodrome remains in jeopardy of being dismantled according to François Trout of the Centre national de cyclisme de Quebec (CNCQ), which operates the velodrome.

Trout wrote to Pedal explaining that an official from the Quebec City municipality has telephoned him, claiming that the structure will be dismantled because a report concluded that the velodrome is in very poor shape and that the city is not prepared to invest in repairing the facility.

No written communication has been received either to confirm city hall’s intent or providing a copy of the report. But Trout maintains that the facility is still in excellent shape and that he rode around the velodrome yesterday (Sunday).

According to Trout, some 30 panels, which are original from the facility’s 2001 construction, need replacing, but he did not provide any cost estimates for the repair.

Trout added that closing the Louis Garneau Velodrome would punish all cyclists in eastern Quebec because the facility frequently receives clubs from Trois-Rivières, Saguenay, the Beauce, etc. As previously reported, there is only one other velodrome (at Bromont) in the province. The Quebec City velodrome is a 200m outdoor facility.

Meanwhile, Julie Charbonneau, the Communication Manager at Louis Garneau Sports also wrote to Pedal explaining that Louis Garneau is the president of the CNCQ’s board of directors but that Quebec City is the owner of the site. Garneau is also the founder of the Quebec City velodrome project. Garneau, a former Olympic cyclist, is the president of Quebec City-based Louis Garneau Sports Inc, one of the largest bicycle and cycling accessory manufacturers in the world.

The mayor of Quebec City, Andrée Boucher, does not have a reputation for being favourable to cycling facilities. Despite the tremendous popularity of cycling around the provincial capital, she once commented in 2005 that, “Québec City is not Amsterdam, and there’s absolutely no question of spoiled kids (cyclists) imposing their will on us (at city hall).”