The newest professional cycling event on the international tour will be staged in Alberta next fall.
The Tour of Alberta is set for Sept. 3-8 and will start in Edmonton and end in Calgary.
The route, which has yet to be finalized, will travel through rural Alberta, including villages, towns and small cities.
The Tour of Alberta has been sanctioned as a 2.1 race by the Union of Internationale Cyclistes, making it the highest level pro cycling event to be staged in Canada.
An annual event beginning next year, it will feature up to 16 pro cycling teams of up to eight riders per team. With the level 2.1 sanctioning up to half
could include Pro Tour teams — the same teams which compete in the Tour de France.
“A cycling event in Alberta, modeled after the classic road races such as the Tour de France and Giro D’Italia, has been a long-time dream of many Albertans and it is a real coup to be the first race sanctioned at this level in Canada,” Brian Jolly, the chair of the Alberta Peloton Association (APA), said in a press release.
The APA is the non-profit organization organizing the Tour of Alberta.
The official race route and list of host communities will be announced in early 2013.