The ATB Tour of Alberta is set to celebrate a milestone birthday.
The professional cycling event will turn five years old when it hits the roads and streets from Sept. 1 to 4.
“When the idea came up to bring a pro cycling event to Alberta, there were certainly a lot of doubters,” Tour of Alberta CEO and president Scott Fisher said. “We definitely are thrilled we’re going into year five.”
“It’s getting its true colours now; it’s a really good development race,” Alberta Peloton Association’s Peter Verhsesen said.
“We see it as anchor to the cycling program in Canada.”
The four-stage race will start in Jasper National Park. Stage 2 will be in and around Spruce Grove. Stages 3 and 4 will both in Edmonton. Fisher said there are practical events to Northern Alberta being the hub for the 2017 tour.
LISTEN: Organizers of the ATB Tour of Alberta on the fifth annual race
“We have had interest from Grande Prairie and Lethbridge,” Fisher explained. “You can’t do both those communities in the same year. We have to pick up and tear down our event every day and set it up the next morning. There’s a lot of cost and effort in that.
“Rather than moving it around the province in one year, we can move it around the province from year to year. We can showcase the province over multiple years.”
The Tour of Alberta will cover 546 kilometres. Cyclists will cross the finish line in Churchill Square on Labour Day.
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