/R E P E A T -- A national criterium brings international women's racing to Montréal - 6th Edition of the Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes/

USA - English

• USA - English

SAINT-LAMBERT, QC, June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - The Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes (GPCQM) –  the only two competitions on the UCI WorldTour held in North America – announce the addition of a national criterium to the program, this September 12, in Montréal. This is a development competition for riders with a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) license in the Junior, Espoir and Élite (17 to 29 years old) categories. This news also heralds the return of women's cycling to international competition in Montréal – a first since the last World Cup in 2009.

For this 6^th edition, the GPCQM continues the North American road cycling tradition by hosting the world's elite on the challenging Québec and Montréal courses, on September 11 and 13. The GPCQM are also the last races before the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States (September 19 to 27, 2015). Two meetings of elite calibre cyclists on the same continent, only a week apart, suggests that the GPCQM is, once again, welcoming the absolute top riders.

2015 NEWS

CRITÉRIUM NATIONAL DE MONTRÉAL
"The addition of the Critérium National de Montréal is one of the initiatives launched by GPCQM in order to support the development of road cycling in this country and to encourage local cyclists and cycling in general. Riders can then enjoy the development of world-class road cycling, performing under the auspices of WorldTeams and ultimately having their expertise recognized worldwide, says Marcel Leblanc, GPCQM's Executive Vice-President. This is also a great source of pride for our organization to welcome women riders. Our new circuit is an additional opportunity for these athletes to maximize their appearances on Canadian soil, which evolve at a national level and on professional teams."

"Women's cycling is enjoying wonderful visibility, and that awareness is allowing its popularity to grow. Women's races being held alongside competitions for men, impressive media coverage, and increasingly exciting primes all point to a real evolution in this arena, underscores Lex Albrecht, professional cyclist, member of the Canadian national team as well as the professional team Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. So GPCQM's announcement of a national criterium in Montréal is great news! It's an important opportunity for North American riders to compete in a race organized by a UCI WorldTour event promoter. Some riders will even have the pleasure of riding in their home town."

The GPCQM Critérium National de Montréal takes place on two, 60-minute courses, with intensity, re-entries and sprints to finally crown the men's and women's champions at the foot of Mont-Royal, Saturday, September 12. The course is a 1.1 km loop, ridden at breathtaking speeds, with men covering 40 laps (44 km) and women covering 30 (33 km).

2015  PROGRAM

TEAMS
The GPCQM bring together 17 teams from the WorldTour, the national Canadian Cycling Team and the Professional Continental Teams:  Team Europcar (France), Drapac Professional Cycling (Australia), and Bora-Argon 18 (Germany).

For years, world class road cycling has been mainly associated with Europe, but the Québec City Grand Prix and the Montréal Grand Prix have certainly contributed to the globalization of this sport. From the very beginning in 2010, the GPCQM quickly learned how to attract the world's élite, welcoming, among others, four Tour de France winners over five editions (Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Christopher Froome, and Andy Schleck)… as well as world champions like Philippe Gilbert and Rui Costa, for whom the GPCQM became annual stops from the very start. Also of note:  Robert Gesink was the first rider to get to the top of the podium in both Québec and Montréal. In 2014, Australian Simon Gerrans made history when he won both Grands Prix in the same year. And this doesn't even count the exceptional performances of riders like Ryder Hesjedal, Pete Sagan, and Thomas Voeckler, to name but a few. And last but definitely not least; we must highlight David Veilleux, the first Quebecer to have completed the Tour de France.

Events will not only be watched live by hundreds of thousands of spectators but also in possibly a billion homes, in 130 countries.

ABOUT THE QUÉBEC CITY AND MONTRÉAL GRANDS PRIX CYCLISTES
The Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes, the only two spots on the UCI WorldTour in North America, contribute to fulfilling one of the primary objectives of the UCI WorldTour:  the globalization of élite cycling. These tour stops join the list of existing, officially sanctioned events in Europe, Oceania and Asia. Since 2010, the organization has been responsible for the planning and the conduct of GPCQM and counts on the invaluable support of public and private partners to maintain its standards:  the government of Canada, the government of Québec, the city of Québec, the city of Montréal, the National Battlefields Commission, the Québec Tourism Bureau, Montréal Tourism, Québécor, Air Transat, and TVA Sports (official GPCQM broadcaster).

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SOURCE Événement GPCQM

Related Links

WWW.GPCQM.CA