Canadian Road Cycling Championships coming to Burlington

March 16th, 2011 by Michelle Gatien Comment button

The City of Burlington is getting ready to welcome the world when the Canadian Road Cycling Championships and Festival take to the city streets from June 23 to July 3, 2011. With a unanimous decision at the March 9th Community Services Committee meeting, the roadways of Burlington will be filled this summer with the wheels of participants from all over the world.

The eight day event will host nine events for both elite cycling athletes and Burlington residents and bike enthusiasts.

Seven road cycling events will challenge the athletes from around the world including time trial events in the north end of the city, the Burlington Criterium in the downtown core and the 180 km Challenge Ride which will take competitors from Burlington to Halton Hills and back. Other scheduled events during the Championships, the Limehouse Para-Cyclists Road Race, the Snake-Waterdown Road Race and the Georgetown Village Criterium.

Each race has a unique style and will offer residents a chance to view some of the best cyclists in the world. The Tour de France is a prime example of the traditional road race. The Rattlesnake Point Road Race will consist of 12.84 km laps, nine laps or 157 km for female riders and 14 laps or 180 km for male riders. A Criterium is a short course race that is set on a closed-off city center streets. Races are determined by either a total number of laps or the total time and is generally shorter than a traditional road race. The winner of the race is the first rider to cross the finish line without being “lapped”. Time trials are a road race where riders race against the clock. In time trials, riders start at equal intervals and the rider at the end with the fastest time is declared the winner.

Not only will residents have the chance to watch elite riders race on City streets, but they will also the chance to come out, show off their bikes and participate in an afternoon community festival event in Spencer Smith Park and along the beach strip. The event starts with a bike decoration workshop and kid’s cycling skills clinic. Later in the evening the lakeshore bike path will come alive with a bike parade followed by a family concert in the park. One of the major events, the Criterium falls on Canada and residents are encouraged to watch the race then congregate in Spencer Smith Park for the annual Canada Day events. The next day, on July 2 the 180 km Challenge Race will conclude with a post-race celebration and concert.

Due to the nature of road races, some area streets will be closed to traffic during the Championships. While specific road closures will be finalized closer to the event, residents should expect significant road closures in the Burlington downtown core on July 1, 2011 along with some rerouting of Burlington Transit’s services. To avoid conflicts with the Annual Canada Day celebrations in Spencer Smith Park, the races are slated to end before 6pm to open up the downtown core to the residents making their way down to Spencer Smith Park. Other road issues include the two consecutive Thursday that Walkers Line is slated to host the Elite and Masters Time Trials. The races scheduled for June 23 and 30th will close Walkers Line to traffic, however the City is confident that their work with event organizers and with the Halton Regional Police Service to revise certain routes will help mitigate the possible inconveniences to area businesses and residents.

Pending a positive outcome to the 2011 Championship event, Burlington will also play host to the 2012 Cycling Championships. To find out more about the Championships, visit the website at www.canadian-cycling.com.

Tags: cycling