BC Superweek Welcomes Cycling Legend Alex Stieda

Media Advisory: BC Superweek Welcomes Cycling Legend Alex Stieda ~ First North American to lead Tour de France will host a lunch availability Monday

Canadian cycling legend Alex Stieda, who in 1986 became the first North American to wear the yellow leader’s jersey at the Tour de France, invites the Vancouver media to join him for lunch on Monday, July 9 to help celebrate BC Superweek and the return of the Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix.

Stieda, who captured five classification jerseys at the Tour de France, will be one of several top Canadian cyclists available at Monday’s media lunch.

In addition to lunch at Mahony and Son’s, a sponsor for Tuesday’s UBC Grand Prix, there will be a short press conference highlighting the past, present and future of cycling in Canada, and the key role the $105,000 BC Superweek plays in the identification and development of top riders.

DATE: Monday, July 9, 2012
TIME: 11:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Mahony and Son’s Burrard Landing
1055 Canada Place, Unit #36
Vancouver, BC

Stieda’s 15-year career also included winning bronze at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Australia, representing Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and seven seasons with the famed 7-Eleven Pro Cycling Team that included several stops – and two wins – at the prestigious Gastown race.

Stieda will be joined Monday by John Tolkamp, the president of Cycling Canada Cyclisme, as well as a handful of top riders with local roots:

• Svein Tuft and Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEDGE) are two of five Canadians racing at cycling’s highest level, the Pro Tour, and both competed at the Giro d’Italia, helping their team to its first Grand Tour stage win. Tuft, an Olympian in 2008, also recently claimed his eighth Canadian Time Trial Championship.

• Will Routley & Ryan Anderson (Team Spidertech) are both in their second season racing professionally in Europe as part of Canadian legend Steve Bauer’s pro team, which hopes to one day compete at the Tour de France.

• Ben Chaddock (Team Exergy ) turned a victory at the 2010 Tour de Delta into a professional contract with Exergy and a chance to compete with the Canadian National Track team. He also won the 2012 National Criterium Championship.
• Sebastian Salas (Optum Pro Cycling) is another local cyclist who turned a strong performance at BC Superweek into a pro contract, and as a rookie won the 2012 King of the Mountain as the top climber at the Tour of California.
• Gord Fraser is a three-time Canadian Olympian and one of this country’s most decorated professionals, with more than 200 wins. He returns to BC Superweek as the Directeur Sportif for the Competitive Cyclist Pro Racing Team.

-30-

BC Superweek is Canada’s biggest cycling series, with $105,000 in prize money available during nine races over 10 days.

BC Superweek runs from July 6 through 15, and is made up of the Tour de Delta (races on July 6, 7, 8), Original 16 UBC Grand Prix (July 10), Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix (July 11), Giro di Burnaby (July 12) and the Tour de White Rock (races on July 13, 14, 15)

Learn more at www.bcsuperweek.ca

Contacts

Kevin Woodley
Media Relations, BC Superweek
woodyz@telus.net
604-828-5842

Greg Descantes
Media Relations
Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix
604-646-3564
www.globalrelayggp.org

www.facebook.com/GastownGrandPrix

@GastownGP