Tour de France-calibre cyclists will speed through Canmore and Kananaskis next September if the Alberta Peloton Association gets its way.
The Rural Alberta Development Fund announced Monday it will contribute $3.5 million to a $6 million dollar stage race which will begin in Edmonton on Sept. 3 and end in Calgary Sept. 8, pending course approval. Racers will speed through 16 to 18 rural villages, with the Rocky Mountain stage projected to climb Highwood Pass and end in Canmore on Day 5.
“Canmore, Highwood Pass is on the radar. We’re not in a position to make anything final, but having a stage ending in Canmore is in the cards,” said Tour of Alberta Executive Director Duane Vienneau.
The not-for-profit group has tried to bring top level cycling to Alberta for years, and the race, modelled after the Tour de France and Giro D’Italia, is now a go, organizers say.
“We’re finalizing the route. Canmore and Kananaskis is targeted to be the fifth,” Vienneau said.
The race is scheduled to take place the same time as the Tour de Spain, but UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) approved the race as a top-calibre sanctioned race. That means half the field could be the same as Tour de France competitors. Sixteen teams and 150 cyclists will take part in the event, and invitations will go out.
“Choosing riders, that job is ongoing. We’ll determine who we’ll invite to the race. That will kick off in the new year, and we’ll know in April or May who will race,” Vienneau said.
Provincial dollars cover the initial $3.5 million in funding, while sponsorship should cover the rest, Vienneau said. The director, whose event organizing experience includes the 2010 Grey Cup in Edmonton, said the races should cost about a million dollars a day, and could reach 35 million viewers around the globe. In Canada, Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast the entire race.
“We’re targeting 30 to 35 million viewers based on similar races. I think it will be higher than that,” Vienneau said.
Organizers wanted to hold a stage in Banff and Jasper National Parks, and are currently in discussions with Parks Canada to add a stage for a 2014 event.
Once the race course is finalized, the Tour of Alberta will be the second-largest cycling race in North America, behind the Tour of California. It will be run under UCI rules and travel 850 kilometres across Alberta, ranging through prairie, foothill, city and Rocky Mountain stages.
Canmore mayor John Borrowman is supportive of the event and said the Town of Canmore will be fully behind the effort.
“It’d be fabulous if it comes to pass. Canmore is a great location for cyclists and an event of this magnititude is great for the community,” said Borrowman.
After the experience the town had last week we had with the cross-country ski Alberta World Cup, Borrowman said since the Olympics in 1988, the town has earned a reputation for supporting such festivals.
“We’ve become good with those events. It goes back to ’88, where people were blown out of the water with what Canmore could do. In Canmore, people get behind it,” Borrowman said.
The mayor said there is nothing in the municipal budget for the Tour of Alberta and he’s unsure of the financial implications, however, he’s sure the Town will pull something together for the event.
