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Tour de Beauce Celebrates 30 Years of Cycling – Route, Teams, Rosters Announced

release by The Tour de Beauce

May 28, 2015 (Saint-Georges, QC) – The start of the 2015 Tour de Beauce will be on June 10 at its home base in Saint-Georges, and throughout the five days of racing, nearly 140 cyclists from 21 teams will compete for the General Classification in this prestigious race covering a total distance of 683.4 kilometers in the Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie and Quebec regions.

1989 Beauce peloton (starting 4th from left) Rene Fortin, Carl Reglar, Scott Goguen, Tim Lefebvre, Mike Belcourt, Yvan Waddell, Chris Koberstein  ©  courtesy of TdB

A New Formula for the Tour de Beauce as it Celebrates 30 Years of Cycling

Celebrating 30 years of the Tour de Beauce, fans will be treated to the spectator-friendly, fast-paced criterium in the downtown core of Saint-Georges. The short 60km-race makes it return to the Tour de Beauce after six years of hiatus thanks to an exemption from the UCI. The crit as commonly known will be preceded by a grueling time trial earlier in the day on a brand new and closed section of Highway 73.

“Each year, the Tour de Beauce welcomes cyclists from around the world to participate in this sporting event of international caliber. The majestic roads of Beauce and surrounding areas are now recognized worldwide by the cycling community, and through the Tour de Beauce,” says Francis Rancourt, Executive Director of the Tour de Beauce. “We are particularly pleased to welcome a record number of teams this year, with 21 teams from nine countries vying for top honors.”

Start of first Stage last year  ©  Brian Hodes

“We also take this opportunity to thank all our partners from the municipal governments, which facilitate road usage for the duration of the Tour de Beauce. The warm welcome we receive annually in different municipalities is remarkable and provides exceptional tourism showcase for the regions visited,” expresses Francis Rancourt.

The 2015 edition of the Tour de Beauce is marked by the return of the very exciting and fast-paced Criterium downtown Saint-Georges, and the presentation of what promises to be a picturesque Time Trial on the closed portion of the new highway 73.

The last Canuck to win Beauce was Svein Tuft riding for the renowned Symmetrics squad back in 2008.  ©  Jerome Lessard

The first stage will take place Wednesday, June 11 with the start and finish at Saint-Georges, and will highlight the strategies of each team as the general classification takes shape. The course used in Stage 1 will be the same used later this month for the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships.

Thursday, the peloton will face its first challenge. The second stage will showcase climbers with the finish of the race at the top of the difficult climb of Mont-Mégantic, and after more than 160 kilometers in the saddle. Last year, the mountain top finish was deviated to Mont-Saint-Joseph as there were road renovations during the event. Expect a complete reshuffle of the general classification at the end of this stage.

The grueling individual time trial race will take place during the third stage, Friday, June 13 in Saint- Georges, on a new section of Highway 73, totaling a distance of 21 km. This time trial stage is usually one that brings a lot of change in the overall standings. Later in the evening, the downtown core of Saint-Georges will be utilized for the very exciting criterium, rolling around a 1.5 km circuit in front of patios and restaurants.

Beauce action...renowned for hills and rain  ©  Brian Hodes

Quebec City will host once again a classic stage of the Tour de Beauce, the fifth, on Saturday, June 13. Residents of Quebec City and surroundings areas will have once again the opportunity to witness a traditionally exciting race in the heart of Old Quebec, which borrows several sections of the circuit used by the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, UCI WorldTour stage. This year’s street circuit is 9.6 km.

The 2015 Tour de Beauce champion will be crowned Sunday, June 14, after a 122.4 km stage contested on an urban circuit of 10.2 km in Saint-Georges, the centralized area where cyclists will be accommodated. This stage promises to be just as exciting as the riders will give it their all to climb in the General classification or protect their leaders.

Tour de Beauce 2015 Stages Course maps here
Stage 1 — June 10: Saint-Georges-Saint-Georges (186.2 km)
Stage 2 — June 11: Lac Mégantic/Parc National du Mont-Mégantic (169 km)
Stage 3a — June 12: Saint-Georges (21 km) [Time Trial]
Stage 3b — June 12: Saint-Georges (60km) [Criterium: 40 laps of 1.5km]
Stage 4 — June 13: Ville de Québec (124.8 km) [Urban Circuit: 13 laps of 9,6 km]
Stage 5 — June 14: Ville de Saint-Georges (122.4 km) [Urban Circuit: 12 laps of 10,2 km]
Total distance: 683.4 km

Tour de Beauce 2015 — Jerseys
Yellow Jersey Desjardins: Leader of the General classifications
White Jersey Hydro-Québec: Leader of the Points classifications
Polka Dots Jersey: Leader of the King of the Mountain classifications
Red Jersey Le Georgesville: Leader of the Best Young Riders classifications (U23)
Blue Jersey Ville de Québec: Winner of the Quebec Stage

Strong Teams to Make a Great Show at 30th Tour de Beauce

The Tour de Beauce, Canada’s top domestic stage race who is celebrating its 30th edition, announced today a peloton that promises to be of high calibre featuring yet again this year some of the best cyclists hailing from 17 different countries.

Tour de Beauce, under sanction 2.2 from the International Cycling Union (UCI) will host teams from Canada, the United States and around the world for a five-day stage race comprised of six stages on the roads of the Chaudière-Appalaches, the Eastern Townships and Quebec regions.

Silber Pro Cycling  ©  SPC

The intense competition will feature more than 140 cyclists from 21 professional and development cycling teams. Throughout the course of its previous 29 editions, the Tour de Beauce crowned champions from Canada, the United States, France, Latvia, Australia, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, the Czech Republic, Moldova and New Zealand.

Provisional Start List, by Teams here.

“The Tour de Beauce remains one of the most respected cycling events on the calendar. Year after year, teams from across North America and Europe make the journey here to participate in the stage race,” commented Francis Rancourt, Executive Director of the Tour de Beauce.

Rancourt added: “We celebrate in 2015 the 30th edition of the Tour de Beauce. During these 30 years of existence, cycling greats showed up to the starting lines, marking the beginning of several dazzling careers in professional cycling. We are fortunate that year after year, the Tour de Beauce remains essential for Professional Continental and Continental teams.”

The three UCI continental teams based in Canada will be on the start line, with Garneau-Quebecor and Silber Pro Cycling Team and Team H&R Block.

Seven of the 21 teams are from Canada, nine of the United States and four from the international.

Skujins takes the final stage  ©  Brian Hodes

Two Quebec regional teams will be present on the starting line, with Norco Bicycles / Premier Tech and Santé Universelle/Marin Bikes. There will also be two other teams from Canada: Wheels of Bloor and Ride with Rendall from Ontario.

The International presence will again by very powerful with the presence of two pro continental team registered with the UCI in Team Novo Nordisk (USA) and Caja Rural Seguros RGA (ESP).

Latvia’s Tom , winner of the 2014 Tour de Beauce, will be back to defend his title with Hincapie Racing Team (USA). Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies (USA) will provide punch in all stages with a strong overall team, which includes five Canadians in Michael Woods, 2010 Canadian Champion Will Routley, Ryan Anderson, Tour de Beauce stage winner Guillaume Boivin et Pierrick Naud. Team Smart stop, with among its ranks Rob Britton, second in the GC of the 2014 edition and 2013 Canadian Champion Zach Bell, will also be one to watch.

Mike Woods  ©  Optum

The Tour de Beauce is organized for the third consecutive year on the eve of Canadian Road Championships, also held by the Corporation du Grand Prix cycliste de Beauce.

Partners Play Critical Role in Success and Longevity of The Tour de Beauce

The Tour de Beauce, in its 30th edition this year, is very proud to count among its major sponsors again this year, Hydro Quebec, Desjardins, Georgesville and the governments of Quebec and Canada. These partners play a key role in the continued success of the Tour de Beauce.

Among the official suppliers, we are pleased to reconnect with the great family of the Tour de Beauce, namely: Thule, iClic, Champion System, Pepsi Alex Coulombe, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, IGA Rodrigue et Filles, St-Georges Toyota and SRAM. These suppliers allow us to maintain the excellent event that the Tour de Beauce has become, and continually improve it by their many products and services they provide.

Media partners are also essential to the smooth operations of the Tour de Beauce and helped greatly in its longevity. They include: Le Soleil, Look Media, EnBeauce.com, COOL 103.5 FM and MIX 99.7.

Who will have the honour of winning the 30th anniversary of the Tour de Beauce?  ©  Brian Hodes

It is also important to emphasize the excellent collaboration of the public partners, with the host cities of Saint-Georges, Quebec City, Lac-Mégantic, and the Mont-Mégantic National Park.

The organization also wishes to thank all municipalities along the route, the Sûreté du Québec, the Quebec municipal police and the Ministry of Transport of Quebec, because without them, this premier international event would not be possible.

Finally, it is important not to forget the contributions of many area businesses that support the event as Friends of the Tour de Beauce, as well as all the volunteers who offer their priceless time and services.





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