March 6, 2007 – As we announced on Feb. 24, Québec’s Beauce region has officially been awarded the 2007 and 2008 Canadian Road Cycling Championships. Two press conferences were held today, one in Quebec City and the other in St-Georges de Beauce, to spread the good news. The announcement was a huge load off of the CCA’s (Canadian Cycling Association) shoulders, as the assoication did not have a venue for this year’s road nationals, with only four months to go before the event.

The 2007 Road Nationals will be held from July 5-11.with the curtains opening with the Paracycling and Masters competitions. The Elite riders will also compete over the opening weekend as all of the criteriums will be run on Saturday (July 7) and Sunday (July 8). The TTTs will take place on Monday (July 9), whereas the road races will be held on Tuesday (July 10) and Wednesday (July 11).

Beauce: a Natural Choice

The presence of Beauce to save the day may have come as a surprise for some, but CCA president, Pierre Blanchard, wasn’t surprised at all. “They were actually called upon initially by the Bromont organizers for technical support,” Blanchard said. “When the Bromont bid fell through, Louis Barbeau (FQSC Director General) redirected us to the Tour de Beauce organization, which seemed natural to me.”

Tour de Beauce Chairman, Denis Lévesque, was already under the basket for the rebound. “We were exactly what the doctor ordered for the CCA,” Lévesque said. “We did not negotiate with a gun to their head, because we were aware of the talks they’d had with the Bromont organizers. The only stressful thing was that we had to wait three months to receive the specifications, which came in just a few days ago.”

Other venues were looked at, but no other bid provided the same quality of organization as the Tour de Beauce on such short notice. “We are in the process of restructuring,” Pierre Blanchard explained, “Thus we were looking for some sort of stability, we had to be sure we could count on a solid team, a team that is used to big events, in a venue with a good fan base. We had a few bitter comments from other provinces, because, when all is said and done, Québec will have hosted the Road Nationals three years in a row. So we decided to move the MTB Nationals to another province to compensate.”

Furthermore, the CCA was open to award the Road Nationals for two years. “We might have done it for only one year, but we tried our luck and it paid off,” Lévesque added. “It would have put our sponsors on the spot, whereas now, it’ll be easier to sign longer term deals.” Blanchard agrees. “We were presented with a good business plan, which will prepare the ground work for 2008. In the future, we’ll try and award the event much earlier in the schedule – 12 to 18 months in advance sounds great to me”.

The Honourable Maxime Bernier: Honorary Chairman

The Hon. Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Beauce MP will serve as Honorary Chairman for the 2007 edition. “It is an honour for me,” Bernier said. “I know the Tour de Beauce organization, and I’m very confident that they will make this event a hugely popular success. I’m also pleased to be associated with an event that is such a great display window for our beautiful region.” Unfortunately, Bernier did not offer direct financial support for the event, but his government will still help indirectly. “Economic Development Canada will be on hand, as well as many federal employment programs will be available,” Bernier added. “I also take pride in the fact that the Road Nationals in Beauce are primarily financed by the private sector.”

Titles to be Defended

Many riders will have the opportunity to defend their titles acquired in Quebec City last year. Look for BC’s Svein Tuft (Elite ITT), Quebec’s David Veilleux (U23 ITT and Road), Ontario’s Mark Hinnen (Jr. Road), Alberta’s Eric Smith (Jr. ITT), BC’s Cam Evans (Crit) and Quebec’s Dominique Rollin (Elite Road) for the men, as well as Alex Wrubleski (U23/Elite Road and ITT), Anne Samplonius (Crit), Alberta’s Julie Beveridge (Jr. ITT) and Karol-Ann Canuel (Jr. Road) on the women’s side.

On the men’s side, the deck might be shuffled somewhat, as the “Joker” is making a comeback: Quebec City’s Charles Dionne will have to be considered as one of the favourites, after missing the whole 2006 season due to clogged arteries in his leg. “It’ll be like riding at home,” the St-Rédempteur-born rider said at the press conference. “Furthermore, this is the one title that’s been eluding me. I won in BMX, on the track, at the junior level, but never with the Elites. I count on the local crowd to cheer me on to victory.”

Dionne is recovering recently from pneumonia, which hit him during the Amgen Tour of California last month. “But rest assured, I’ll be at my peak for the Road Nationals. I always try to peak in June and July, during the biggest and hardest competitions.”

Courses Undecided

Because the specifications came in late, the courses have not been finalized yet. But Denis Lévesque gave us a taste of what riders can expect. For him, the criterium will be the biggest challenge. “The UCI is threatening to take out the crit from the Tour de Beauce,” he commented. “So we have to find a solution that will be suitable for everybody.” The exact issue removes the option of an urban circuit for the road race. “For the elites, we’re thinking about a 160km road race that would end with a 2-3 lap crit,” Lévesque thinks out loud. “It has been used in other races (like the Tour de l’Abitibi). And like we usually do at the Tour de Beauce, the TTTs will be run outside of St-Georges maybe in St-Jean-de-la-Lande. As for the other races we have not excluded borrowing courses from Le Tour de Beauce,” he added.

Tim Hortons on Board

In spite of the uncertainty surrounding the Road Nationals, CCA sponsor Tim Hortons has been steadfast throughout the ordeal and is the title sponsor one again of the Road Nationals – other sponsors to be announced later. “In the Beauce region there’s nothing to be worried about,” said Lévesque. “People here love and support cycling. Finding sponsors will be hard work, but we can count on the business community here to pull with us.”

Lévesque offered up good proof of that support last week. “I had an appointment with (St-George Mayor) Roger Carette. It lasted five minutes, and I came out of his office with a cheque for $25,000.”

Needless to say, the CCA has gone from the brink to the driver’s seat in no time”¦