Montreal Women’s Cycling World Cup

The Canadians triumph, and Judith Arndt is crowned queen of Mount Royal

Montreal, May 31, 2008 – Following a thrilling race that featured breakaways, attacks and falls, German Judith Arndt (Team High Road) finished the World Cup in 3:11:34, just ahead of the 2007 World Cup champion Fabiana Luperini (Menkini Selle Italia Master Colors). Canadian Leigh Hobson (Canadian national team) finished in third place, 30 seconds behind. Cyclists had to battle pouring rain on occasion as they tackled Mount Royal eleven times. The Canadians put on a great show, remaining in the lead for a good part of the race. Anne Samplonius finished in sixth position while Erinne Willock came in seventh.

The Canadians achieved remarkable results. Leigh Hobson was quite surprised with her time, but added, laughing, “This is the eighth time that I’ve done this difficult Mount Royal course. I made lots of mistakes during the first seven editions, but this time, I think I’m showing that I learned a lot from my mistakes. Experience and age must count for something!”

As for Judith Arndt, she held on to the World Cup champion jersey. She was very satisfied with her time, but not too impressed with the weather. “This elevated course is very difficult in pouring rain like today.”

The eleventh edition of the Montreal Women’s Cycling World Cup will be followed by the Tour du Grand Montréal, from June 2 to 5 in the greater metropolitan area.

11th edition of the Women’s Cycling World Cup and 7th  edition of the Tour du Grand Montréal

 

Montreal, May 29th, 2008- Under the honorary presidency of Ms. Francine Senécal, vice chairperson of Montreal’s executive committee, responsible for sports, recreation and Montreal’s Nature Museums, Montreal will host the 11th edition of the Women’s Cycling World Cup on the UCI Circuit. This eleventh edition will take place on the Mont-Royal circuit beginning at noon on Saturday, May 31st , 2008.

A unique event in the Americas

 

The Montreal World Cup is the 6th stage of a 11-leg circuit that takes place across the world. Each year, the Union cycliste internationale assigns only eleven world spots to determine the World Cup champion. Montreal hosts the only road cycling World Cup event to take place on the American continent. Australia, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland will host World Cup events before Canada (Montreal); the subsequent events will be held in Sweden, France and Germany.

Course

 

Like last year, the Montreal World Cup circuit will depart from and finish at Park Avenue. The circuit will skirt around Jeanne-Mance park. The route will give the public the opportunity to follow the race from various places. The configuration will enable spectators to watch the peloton pass by from our superb site on Mont-Royal to Jeanne-Mance park. This choice of finish site on Park Avenue will enable more people to watch the spectacular race finish after 11 circuit laps of 10,06 km each for a total distance of 110,66 km.

Schedule

The race will start at 12 pm. This will allow for a greater assistance in the afternoon and a better traffic control for vehicles and public transport.

Tour du Grand Montréal, the most important tour in the Americas

 

Quebeckers can be proud of the cycling reputation Quebec has earned over the years. The Tour du Grand Montréal has become the largest road cycling tour in North America. Champions such as Nicole Cooke (first in the general rankings in 2007), Judith Arndt (winner of the Montreal World Cup event in 2006) and Oenone Wood (World Champion in 2005), attest to the quality of athletes who come to race in the greater metropolitan area.

  

Tour du Grand Montréal will comprise 5 stages for the 7th  edition

 

The Tour du Grand Montréal has the highest level of international endorsement. This prestigious race takes place in 5 stages:

• The first stage will take place on Monday, June 2 in Châteauguay. This new stage will include a new road circuit of 5.7 km and 15 laps, for a total of 85.5 km. The race will start at 5:30 pm.

• The second stage will take place on Tuesday, June 3 in Granby. For the second year, the course will remain the same, with a length of 9.46 km and 11 laps, for a total of 104.06 km. The start will be given at 5 pm.

• The third stage will take place on the morning of Wednesday, June 4 in René Lévesque park in Lachine, a district with a well-established cycling culture. The stage will be an individual time trial over 2.8 km. The first start will be at 11:30 am.

• The fourth stage will take place on Wednesday, June 4 in the evening in the Little Italy district, as a criterium of 50 km with intermediary sprints and public prizes. Each year, more and more spectators gather along the race route, providing an electrifying atmosphere. We should emphasize the backing of the Italian community, which wholeheartedly supports the event. The start will be given at 7:15 pm.

• The fifth and final stage will take place in the late afternoon in Mont-Saint-Hilaire. This five-lap-circuit totals 115 km and will have a new start-finish area on Chemin Osias-Leduc. The race will start at 4:15 pm

In addition to the individual rankings for each stage, there will be two general rankings (time, team) and the following awards:

- Best espoir

- Best climber

- Best sprinter

The best cyclists in the world:

The World Cup and the Tour du Grand Montréal will once again welcome the best women cyclists in the world. Once again, we can expect to welcome the cream of the crop of world cycling and the best Quebec and Canadian athletes.

Défis des jeunes

In collaboration with their respective school boards, primary and high school students will have the chance to take part in a friendly race on a section of the Pro Circuit for the stages in Lachine and Mont-Saint-Hilaire.

  

Our partners and sponsors

Such a large event cannot be produced without the ongoing support and generous collaboration of a large number of partners and sponsors. We would like to stress the ongoing support of the Government of Quebec, our host towns, our private sector partners and our media partners. We are very proud to receive the support and collaboration of these partners in organizing this large-scale sporting event. Thanks to them, thousands of amateurs from here and elsewhere can enjoy this sporting and tourist event free of charge.

Dear Friends,

It is a tremendous honour for me, and it is with great pride, that I welcome you all once again to the 2008 Women's Cycling World Cup. Thanks to the support from the towns involved, the provincial and federal governments and our sponsors, I am proud to welcome the cream of the crop of the women's cycling world to Montreal. I would also like to draw attention to the remarkable support we have received from our honorary president, Mrs. Francine Senécal, Vice-president of the executive committee, officer for sports, leisure and scientific equipment.

 Last chance to accumulate points for the Olympic games

This year the Montreal World Cup will be the last event on UCI’s calendar before the Olympic games.  It will be the last chance for athletes to increase their ranking before the Olympic selection.  We are expecting a large group of participants.

Circuit

 For a second year, the Montreal World Cup circuit will depart from and finish at Park Avenue. Like last year, the circuit will skirt around Jeanne-Mance park. The route will give the public the opportunity to follow the race from various places. The configuration will enable spectators to watch the peloton pass by from our superb site on Mont-Royal to Jeanne-Mance park. This choice of finish site on Park Avenue will enable more people to watch the spectacular race finish after 12 circuit laps of 10 km each for a total distance of 110 km.

Tour du Grand Montréal, the most important tour in the Americas:

Quebeckers can be proud of the cycling reputation Quebec has earned over the years. The Tour du Grand Montreal has become the largest road cycling tour in North America. Champions such as Marianne Vos (first in world rankings for 2008) Nicole Cooke (first in  general rankings in 2007), Judith Arndt (winner of the Montreal World Cup event in 2006) and Oenone Wood (World Champion in 2005, winner of The Greater Montreal Tour in 2007), attest to the quality of athletes who come to race in the greater metropolitan area.

The Greater Montreal Tour has the highest level of international endorsement. This prestigious will hold five stages.

Don't miss it!

Whether you are a sponsor of one of our events, volunteering for race day, taking part in the cyclosportive, involved in the youth challenges, or simply a spectator at an event, you are playing your part in helping women's cycling progress towards greater equality of the sexes, as well as improving the mental and physical well-being of children throughout the province of Quebec.

 

Daniel Manibal

President, Chief Executive Officer