2012 Canadian road championships moved to Quebec
The 2012 Canadian road championships are headed back to Quebec's Eastern Townships after the Midweek Cycling Club withdrew from organizing it in Ontario.
Canada’s top cycling event is returning to Quebec’s Eastern Townships, as the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) announced Friday that Lac-Mégantic will host the 2012 National road championships.
The event was supposed to be held in Burlington, Ont., but the Midweek Cycling Club recently withdrew from hosting duties.
Although they put on a successful Canadian championships in 2011, the club was unable to commit to improvements to meet CCA requirements, said Mathieu Boucher, director of development for the national governing body.
“They did an amazing job [in 2011],” Boucher said. “The championship was an amazing event.”
But CCA officials wanted some course and venue changes to improve the overall quality of the event. For example, there were a number of different venues used for the duration of the 2011 championships, and officials wanted to consolidate some of them for the 2012 event.
Course changes proved to be difficult as well, since it involved approval from multiple police departments in certain instances, Boucher added.
In the end, the best decision seemed to be to find a new host.
“For us, 2012 is a critical year. It’s an Olympic year. We’re trying to leverage the visibility and quality of the Canadian championship, which is why our requirements [for hosting] are getting to be more difficult too.”
Quebec’s Eastern Townships have hosted major cycling events in the past. The Tour de Beauce is held in the region and the Nationals have were also held nearby in the 1990s.
An experienced organizing committee led by Francis Rancourt, who was also involved in Grand Prix events, will take the lead for the 2012 nationals, as well as the 2013 and 2014 Canadian championships in St-Georges-de-Beauce.
“They have a proven track record in hosting major road races, and will provide a great platform for challenging performances from the athletes racing at this top domestic event. The Canadian Championships offer great visibility for Canadian cyclists, for the sport of cycling and for the region hosting the event,” Boucher said.
More than 500 of Canada’s top cyclists will compete in events at the Canadian road championships, June 21 to July 1, featuring all categories of racers.
