Grand Prix Cycliste is The North American Premiere of the ProTour Circuit
We love to surf on the water, but on the terra firma we cycle!The Grand Prix Cycliste in Québec City and Montréal marks the first time the ProTour Circuit has raced in North America and GoTofino.com has been selected as West Coast media to visit Québec and cover both races.
September 12, 2010 Grand Prix ProTour Race Montreal
After finishing third in Quebec City, Robert Gesink shows he's got what it takes to be a champion by finishing in first place in Montréal. Peter Sagan rode a very smart race finishing second and Canada's Ryder Hesjedal came in third amid a round of wild cheering from the fans in Montréal. Read more about the Grand Prix ProTour Montreal.
Congratulations to a brilliant rider, Robert Gesink (NED Rabobank) for an incredible weekend of racing. Gesink is now 4th in the UCI ProTour rankings.
September 12, 2010 - Pre Race, Montreal
Yesterday we hopped on the train reserved for media types and travelled from Québec City to Montréal. Has been fun to chat with people who cover cycling full-time. Arriving at the train station along with the riders' train we stepped out into the welcoming crowd. Lots of kids getting their photos taken with the riders - that was great. Since no one wanted to interview us, we strolled out into a beautiful sunny hot day and roamed the Old Village of Montréal.
All this running around was making me tired and as I settled into our suite I vowed to relax all night. Then my partner said that Cake was playing at L'Olympia so we went the distance and rocked on down to hear them. Good decision.
Race begins in 3 hours, time to head down to the Press Centre and get the latest news. More to follow.
September 10, 2010 Grand Prix ProTour Race Quebec City
Hang on people, it's a fast and exciting one day race here in Quebec City. French National Champion Thomas Vockler raced to an incredible finish and Canada's Top Rider was - wait for it - Ryder Hesjedal who also placed 4th. Read all about it and check out some video of the Côte de la Montagne climb which proved a popular place to watch the riders fly by - yes that's flying up a 10% grade! Read More...
September 10, 2010 Pre-Race
Friday September 10, and we're getting ready to head down to the race press centre at the Start/Finish line. Large screens are in place to show us the entire race as it progresses. Checking out our suite window in the village of Old Québec we see the Sram Neutral Support Vehicles fuelling up. Time to run and watch the riders warming up. More on today's race to come later...
September 9, 2010
Thursday September 9, a Press Point was held to meet and interview Ryder Hesjedal, Canada's top male cyclist who placed 7th in this year's Tour de France and is currently ranked 11th in the world. Ryder is a tall (6'2") lean (159 lbs.) fighting (actually he's very nice and soft-spoken) machine (that he is!) who moved to road riding after in incredible mountain biking career (7 time World Mountain Bike Champion medalist among other highlights). With success comes pressure and it was present in the interview. Photos were taken continuously and the questions focused on this race: how he felt, the riders he'd be watching, what he'd learned from previous one day races and will be changing or applying to the Grand Prix Québec. Ryder was articulate, diplomatic and friendly to all the questions. He feels strong and healthy, there are quite a number of good one day races here and he will certainly be watching them and a few others, he has learned much from his previous races and will be keeping those things foremost in his mind, but that he will also be riding and having fun in his home country.
September 9, 2010
Thursday September 9, a Press Point was held to meet and interview Director Steve Bauer and riders of the National Team. We attended and watched as the former 4th place Tour de France rider (among other amazing feats) talked about the new team. We then spoke with two British Columbian team members, Rob Brinton (Victoria) and Ryan Anderson (Vancouver), about their involvement in the team. Both riders rode the Challenge Sprit today and will be riding the Grand Prix in Montréal.
Grand Prix Cycliste is The North American Premiere of the ProTour Circuit
We love to surf on the water, but on the terra firma we cycle! The Grand Prix Cycliste in Québec City and Montréal marks the first time the ProTour Circuit has raced in North America and GoTofino.com has been selected as West Coast media to visit Québec and cover both races.
We're talking Ryder Hesjedal, Robert Gesink, Samuel Sanchez, Ivan Basso, Sylvain Chavanel, Sandy Casar, George Hincappe, Thomas Voeckler... More on North American Premiere of the Protour Grand Prix Cycliste in Quebec..
Canadian National Team
The CCA has unveiled the names of the riders who will make up the Canadian national team powered by SpiderTech and directed by Steve Bauer, entered in the Québec City and Montréal Grands Prix Cyclistes. The team will be bolstered by the presence of Québec’s Dominique Rollin, granted special leave by the Cervélo TestTeam for the occasion, as well as the current Canadian National Road Race Champion, Will Routley.
Ryder Hesjedal
Who is Ryder Hesjedal? Well, we can't tell you that of course, and it's really none of our business, but we can get you up to speed on his cycling career and many accomplishments as both a mountain biker and road rider. Find the Ryder Facts here.
International Elite Rider List
Got a favourite professional male cyclist? You may be able to follow them at the Grand Prix Cycliste in Canada. Did Thomas Voeckler win your heart as a young rider and you've liked him ever since? Or how about Sylvain Chavanel this year during the Tour? Do you go way back with Ivan Basso and Samuel Sanchez? Were you on the edge of your chair cheering on Ryder this year? Check out the list of professional riders who are racing this premiere event in the ProTour Quebec City.
