Québec’s Tour de Beauce offers six stages over five days
Chris Horner and Guillaume Boivin to line up in Saint-Georges on June 15
Riders will hear the gun in Saint-Georges, QC on June 15 to start the 31st edition of the UCI 2.2-rated Tour de Beauce. Teams from as far as Israel will participate in six stages over five days, including a time trial and road stage both on June 17.
All three Canadian Continental squads, Garneau-Quebecor, Team H&R Block and Silber Pro Cycling Team, will compete for the five jerseys, including a blue special one for the winner of the criterium in Québec City. Silber is still buzzing from Matteo Dal-Cin’s win at the Redlands Classics.
There will also be a Canadian National Team, with WorldTour outfit AG2R’s Hugo Houle fresh from the Giro d’Italia.
Several Continental teams from the United States of America are coming, along with Pro Continental Team Novo Nordisk. Chris Horner, winner of the 2013 Vuelta a España, rides the Tour de Beauce for the first time with Lupus Racing.
Squads from farther afield are the Dominican Republic Inteja-MMR Dominican and Israel’s Cycling Academy, with Canadian road champion Guillaume Boivin slated to fly the national colours. Spain’s Caja-Rural, with last year’s champion Pello Bilbao, isn’t in attendance for this edition.
Stage 2 will have an uphill finish on Mont-Mégantic and the next day’s double stage begins with a tough 19-km time trial, a 78-km road stage later in the day.
Francis Rancourt, Director General of the Tour, details Stage 4: “This year, the fan-friendly crit race will take place at the heart of Quebec City is one not to be missed. This dramatic stage is sure to thrill the many spectators who will join us on the edge of course, with the start line located on the Grande Allée, near the Parc de la Francophonie. The 2-km circuit will be completed 35 times by the riders.”
Tour De Beauce 2016 — Stages
Stage 1 — June 15: Saint-Georges-Saint-Georges (185 km)
Stage 2 — June 16: Lac Mégantic/Parc National du Mont-Mégantic (169 km)
Stage 3a — June 17: Saint-Prosper (19.4 km) [TT]
Stage 3b — June 17: Saint-Georges-Saint-Georges (78km)
Stage 4 — June 18: Ville de Québec (70 km) [Criterium: 35 laps of 2 km]
Stage 5 — June 19: Ville de Saint-Georges (122.4 km) [Urban Circuit: 12 laps of 10,2 km]
Total distance: 644 km
