Team Canada announced for the Tour of Alberta lead by Antoine Duchesne
Young riders from U23 Team RaceClean and domestic squad Garneau-Quebecor round out the squad
Started in 2013, the Tour of Alberta has previewed many upcoming and established stars in cycling like race winner Rohan Dennis in 2013 and Tom Dumoulin in 2014. In 2016, the race runs from September 1 to 6 beginning in Lethbridge making it’s way through Olds, Rocky Mountain House, Drayton Valley before wrapping up in Edmonton.
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The Tour of Alberta is Canada’s highest ranked international men’s stage race attracting WorldTour teams and top level racers from around the world. Cycling Canada has announced their roster for the 2016 edition with a young roster that mixes experienced with up-and-coming development riders.
The team is led by Antoine Duchesne of Chicoutimi, Que. who is fresh off representing Canada at the Rio Olympics. Duchesne raced his first Tour de France this year being the only Canadian on the startline.
“I’m really happy to race in my country and especially be out there with a young national team. I’ll try to teach the guys what I’ve learned in the last few years. Four years ago I was in Alberta with the national team and had a good result on the queen stage. It’s a great opportunity for these boys to show themselves,” said Antoine Duchesne.
Four members of the Canadian development under-23 squad Team RaceClean which has spent much of the summer racing in Europe will get to race against some of the world’s best in Alberta. The race is an amazing opportunity to get exposure to a high level of racing. Team Canada bring Alex Cowan of Calgary, Alt., William Elliot of Barrie, Ont., Adam Jamieson of Barrie, Ont. and Edward Walsh of Halifax, N.S. to gain experience with the national team against WorldTour riders.
Finally, three members of domestic team Garneau-Quebecor round out the roster. The team will have Simon-Pierre Gauthier of Broisbriand, Que., and Marc-Antoine Soucy of Amos, Que. and Alexis Cartier of Ste-Adèle, Que. for the Tour of Alberta. Originally slated to race, Guillaume Boivin was injured in training and was forced to full out of the race.
“It is great that we’ve been able to put a team in the Tour of Alberta again this year,” said Jacques Landry, high performance director at Cycling Canada. “Since this race has been added to the UCI calendar we’ve recognized that the Tour of Alberta has had some very positive effects on our riders. The level of competition is such that they can be very competitive on home soil whilst racing with the best teams in the world. The end result is that we continue to increase our riders’ exposure to top level competition, which will eventually lead to more of our Canadian riders on top level North American and European teams.”
