A peloton of cyclists on route 117 during a past edition of the Tour de l'Abitibi. (File photo)
The president of the Tour de l'Abitibi, Mélanie Rocher, hopes that junior-age riders will participate in cycling competition as early as 2025 via women's stages.
She gives the example of the women's Tour de France, the first edition of which took place last summer.
I think it was time for the Tour de l' Abitibi is innovating towards female juniors, underlines Ms. Rocher. There are a lot of female runners. I think it's a good time to talk about it and a good time to start integrating it.
The 53rd Tour de l'Abitibi will take place from July 10 to 16 in Amos, where some 150 cyclists will cover nearly 680 kilometers spread over seven stages, a record distance for this international junior cycling race.
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Mélanie Rocher promises some new things, especially on the last day of the event. [The day of] Sunday will be a little different, she points out. We will leave from La Sarre to arrive in Amos on a circuit. We are going to end this with a great finish to present a great show to the inhabitants of Amos and to all the spectators.
The Tour de l'Abitibi joins this year with Glencore, owner of the Horne Foundry, as title partner.
The event is thus renamed Tour de l'Abitibi Glencore for the next three years. The organization had not had a title partner since 2012. At the time, it was the Coopérative des Caisses Desjardins.
