January 18, 2008 (Charlottetown, PEI) – Prince Edward Island’s newest international cycling event has been awarded the sport’s highest honour.

The Canadian Cycling Association granted Tour de PEI the 2007 Road Event Organizer of the Year award. The annual prize is presented to the organizers of a Canadian cycling event, for outstanding coordination and exposure for the sport. The award was granted to Tour de PEI for its inaugural year.

The event’s lead organizer, Daniel Manibal, is a veteran events planner who has successfully organized large scale international cycling competitions for more than a decade. ” I’m honoured to receive this prestigious award,” said Manibal. “Islanders welcomed our event, and all of the volunteers worked very hard to make it shine on the global stage. In just one year, Tour de PEI has already become known as an event that is not to be missed by élite women cyclists.”

Manibal shares this success with Michel Le Chasseur, General Manager of the Confederation Bridge. “Daniel introduced me to the excitement of world cycling competitions, and I returned the favour by introducing him to Prince Edward Island,” said Le Chasseur. “The Confederation Bridge initiated this venture, but the award belongs to everyone on PEI who helped make it successful.”

Myrtle Jenkins-Smith, the president of Conference and Events Management Inc. and her staff were responsible for the overall logistics of the event. “Tour de PEI was a mammoth undertaking and could not have happened without the many sponsors, volunteers, RCMP and the PEI Department of Transportation and Public Works,” said Jenkins-Smith.

PEI’s Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Valerie Docherty, was pleased to learn of the recent award, and thanks everyone who made it a success. “Prince Edward Island was very excited to host the inaugural Tour de PEI, and we look forward to doing it again this year. The Tour de PEI is a great spectator sport, and its high profile gives added visibility to our world class cycling-tourism product here in PEI.”

The inaugural 2007 Tour de PEI drew Olympic-caliber female cyclists from 15 countries. Cyclists competed in five stages that spanned the Island and the 12.9 kilometre long Confederation Bridge. The event drew thousands of spectators along with media coverage that reached an estimated one million Canadian households plus another 600,000 television viewers.

Tour de PEI is made possible in-part through funding from ACOA, Tourism PEI, ScotiaBank, Confederation Bridge and many others.

The Organizing Committee is now planning the 2008 Tour de PEI. Members of the media will be invited to learn details of the event at an upcoming press announcement to be held in early February in Charlottetown. Details will follow and will be posted on the event website www.tourdepei.com.