Le Tour de Québec launch

On September 4, the inaugural Tour de Québec will launch inside old Quebec fortified city walls. The prologue consist of a 250m, drag race style sprint toward the Portes St-Jean fortifications where two riders will face each other to set the fastest time and wear the leader jerseys.

The other stages include a 14-lap, 131,5km road race around the Cap Tourmente, at Saint-Joachim with a 2,5km hill finish. On Saturday, riders will see a technical criterium around the parliament in downtown Quebec city with a finish on the Canadian Champs Elysées (the Grande Allée), followed by another criterium at Lévis along the St-Laurent river. Le Tour de Québec will end on Sunday with another road race of 140km in St-Augustin.

The race will see three fields taking the start: The Pro 1-2 Men, the juniors, masters and senior 3-4, and the senior and junior women. The womens race will consist of the final three stages of the Pro 1-2 men race. Full details of the race can be found on www.tourdequebec.com.

(Additional editorial assistance provided by Susan Westemeyer.)