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Montréal-Boston Tour route set for August

Published: Feb. 13, 2007
Montréal-Boston Tour route set for August
Montréal-Boston Tour route set for August

Not much has been revealed about the new stage race due to take place on the East Coast this August, but the Montréal-Boston Tour is likely to be the biggest cycling event New England has seen since the second Tour de Trump finished in Boston in May of 1990.

The eight-day, 1200km race will feature four days in Canada’s Québec province, followed by one day in Vermont, two days in New Hampshire, with the finale in Massachusetts.

Race organizer Daniel Manibal, who also runs the women’s Montréal World Cup race and Tour du Grand Montréal stage race in June, has indicated that there will be a field of 20 teams: some UCI ProTour teams (perhaps including T-Mobile led by Canadian Michael Barry), the North American domestic pro squads and various national teams.

The race is being supported by the government of Québec province, along with the tourist departments of Montréal, Montéregié, Vermont, New Hampshire and Boston. The corporate sponsors have yet to be announced.

Starting just a week after the finish of the 2007 Tour de France, the Montréal-Boston Tour promises a spectacular course at the height of the New England summer. It’s the first major North American stage race to have August dates since the final Coors Classic in 1988.

The opening stage is due to take place on a challenging urban circuit in Montréal showcasing the city’s main sights. The next day features flat roads on the South Bank of the St, Lawrence River, with a finish in Châteauguay, just south of Montréal, while stage 3 takes place in the hilly Estrie region that includes the Bromont, Mont Sutton and Mont Orford ski areas. The last day in Canada returns to the Montréal area with a flatter stage to St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, about 20 miles north of the U.S. border.

The toughest stage of the race takes place in northern Vermont between the Jay Peak and Sugarbush ski area, taking in several major climbs over the Green Mountains. There are more climbs scheduled on stage 6, through the White Mountains of New Hampshire from Franconia Notch State Park to the State House in Concord. This is followed by a looping course between Manchester and Nashua in the southern part of the state prior to the finish on an inner city circuit based on Boston Common , the oldest public park in the United States.

When the Tour de Trump came to Boston 19 years ago, after a flat stage from Northampton, Massachusetts, ferocious winds on the finishing circuit at Copley Square resulted in a slow-motion sprint taken by Dutchman Michel Zanoli from German Olaf Ludwig and American Davis Phinney. The overall winner was Raúl Alcála of Mexico, from Atle Kvalsvoll of Norway and Erik Breukink of the Netherlands.

This coming August could feature a storybook finish with an overall victory for the Boston area’s most famous bike racer, Tyler Hamilton, if organizers opt to invite his Tinkoff Credit System team. With a strong fan base in the region, that could prove to be a strong draw for the debut edition of a stage race that courses through Hamilton’s home territory.2007 MONTRÉAL-BOSTON TOURAugust 5: Stage 1, Montréal circuit raceAugust 6: Stage 1, Montréal to ChâteauguayAugust 7: Stage 3, Estrie regionAugust 8: Stage 4, Estrie region to St. Jean-sur-RichelieuAugust 9: Stage 5, Jay Peak to Sugarbush Ski Area, VTAugust 10: Stage 6, Franconia Notch to Concord, NH, 115 milesAugust 11: Stage 7, Manchester to Nashua, NH, 94 milesAugust 12: Stage 8, Boston Common circuit raceTOTAL DISTANCE: 1200km