Wheels are in motion on new cycling event
A touch of the Tour de France is coming to Boston this summer.
The inaugural Montreal-Boston Tour, a cycling race of roughly 1,200 kilometers (about 746 miles), will cross two countries and three states, ending in Boston Aug. 12.
The eight-stage race, which will begin in Montreal Aug. 5, was granted a 2.1 license by cycling's world governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale. That license sanctions the race for Tour de France-level riders and teams.
The first four stages will take place in Quebec. The fifth will go through Vermont, starting from the Jay Peak ski resort and ending at the Sugarbush ski resort in Warren. The sixth and seventh stages will take the riders through New Hampshire, where they will go from Franconia Notch State Park and through the cities of Concord, Manchester, and Nashua. The final stage of approximately 90 miles will take place on an urban circuit in Boston, with plans calling for the loop to begin and end at Boston Common.
Daniel Manibal, the race's president and managing director, said he wanted the last stage to evoke the Tour de France, which ends along the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
"The last stage, it highlights the city," said Manibal. "I wanted to have the feeling of the Champs-Elysees in Boston."
The new race falls between two major international cycling events: the Tour de France July 7-29 and the Vuelta Espana Sept. 1-23.
"I think that this new international event could become one of the best cycling events in the world," UCI president Pat McQuaid told cyclingnews.com.
Manibal would not commit to participants but said the new race would feature top international teams, with an emphasis on American riders.
Manibal added he would welcome the participation of Marblehead's Tyler Hamilton, who returned to stage-race cycling earlier this month after a two-year ban following a positive test for blood doping.
"We're going to do the utmost possible to have Tyler Hamilton," said Manibal. "Any day of week he can be our guest."
Manibal said that Bruins great Ray Bourque, who hails from the Montreal suburb of Saint-Laurent, would have a yet-to-be-determined role in promoting the race. Bourque's sports marketing agent, Cleon Daskalakis, said Bourque would be a natural fit.
"Ray is probably the best ambassador for something that comes from Montreal and goes to Boston," said Daskalakis. "He's probably the best role model for someone that's made that trip.
"He's an avid cyclist and he used to do a lot of his outdoor training on a bike."
