Already postponed from September 14 to 17, the 35th edition of the Tour de Beauce has been canceled due to the uncertainties surrounding the competition.

General manager of the event, Francis Rancourt had recommended a few days ago to the board of directors to cancel the event. The council met on Friday and endorsed the recommendation.

“There were too many uncertainties,” Rancourt summed up. It didn't look good financially. We would have had to deal with a significant increase [a sum of approximately $90,000]. We had the choice to go for it, burn all our surpluses and end up in the water or avoid losing everything and stay alive. »

The uncertainties were of several orders.

“We need 20 to 25 vehicles to hold the Tour de Beauce, and no rental company could guarantee them,” Rancourt explained. Owner of 10 to 12 dealerships, Pierre Couture usually lends us about ten cars, but he couldn't do it this year for lack of cars. »

“We were talking about getting the World Tour fleet back, but we would have had to pick up the cars in Montreal and bring them back, which would have resulted in a rental of a few extra days,” Rancourt continued. Compared to 2019, car rentals were almost double. »

American teams

The presence of some American teams was also uncertain.

"Like us, continental US pro teams are dealing with significant cost increases," he said. They could not confirm their presence. We wanted to pass on some of the additional costs to the teams by increasing their accommodation package, but only a minority of teams were ready to commit to paying an additional amount. »

Threatened?

After three years of interruption, is the Tour de Beauce threatened with extinction?

“With the help of governments, the holding of a few events and spending cuts in several places, we got through the crisis well, assured Rancourt. The presentation of events made it possible to bring grist to the mill, to keep the organization active and the motivation of the troops. We are no more in danger than last year. »

The race will be back on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) calendar from June 14 to 18, 2023. For now, the Tour de Beauce organization will hold the provincial road championship at the end of August, the Voie Gravelée and the Quebec gravel championship on Labor Day weekend as well as the GranFondo Lac-Mégantic on September 25.