As you may have already heard, the Montreal - Boston Cycling race has been postponed until the summer of 2008. Yes - postponed. We wanted to give you official notice, as we know some of you were moving forward with some exciting ideas for this summer and the “Bicycles Breezin’ thru Bristol” event. Included on the back of this letter is a copy of the Press Release from the State of NH regarding the postponement of the event. It will give you more details as to the reasoning behind the postponement. As you will also see in the Press Release, Elizabeth was present at the meeting and still has a positive attitude about the future of this event.

We want you to know that Bristol still plans on being involved in next year’s event - and with all the ideas and enthusiasm that has already been generated; we are a step up on planning for next year! We had a good turn out at the public forums – it was fantastic to see such a great response from the business community. With the extra time we now have there is no reason why Bristol can't make the event a top notch one for the community! Bristol will remain on the State Steering Committee for the Montreal - Boston Cycling Tour, and we will continue to keep you posted as things progress.

In the meantime, keep planning and continue to share your ideas with us. We will look forward to working with you on 'Bicycles Breezin' thru Bristol' in 2008! Thank you again for your continued support.

The Bicycles Breezin’ thru Bristol Steering Committee:

Elizabeth Corrow - Town of Bristol,                                                                             

Les Dion – Thompson – Tapply Community Center,                                                          

Greg Gorski – Bristol Shop n’ Save,                                                                          

Mike Lewis – Bristol Police Department,                                                                             

Karen Schaffner – Newfound Area School District,                                                          

Norm Skantze – Bristol Fire Department,                                                                       

Claire Moorhead – Event Coordinator

For Immediate Release:

10 May 2007

Contact:  

Kristen Harbaugh kharbaugh@library.state.nh.us /603.271.3136

Montréal-Boston Tour Postponed until 2008

(Concord, NH): Citing the challenges of producing a project which includes two countries, two languages, three states, one province and over one hundred towns and villages, the organizers of the Montréal-Boston Tour have announced that the 2007 Tour, scheduled for August 5-12 will be postponed.

In a joint statement of support today, Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston and Mayor Gérald Tremblay of Montréal announced their commitment to work with race organizer Daniel Manibal to ensure the success of the Tour, now scheduled for 2008. 

Van McLeod, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources has also announced New Hampshire’s desire to continue with the efforts that have been started in the state and acknowledges the level of professionalism of the race organizers.

“New Hampshire’s 4 Host Cities and 36 Route Towns, along with countless organizations and individuals have done an outstanding job of getting us to this point.  We’ve had local businesses donating all levels of hospitality and support as well as many different departments in our state government - including Safety, Transportation and Travel & Tourism - working together to showcase NH on a national and international level.  It’s because of the efforts of these people that we will have a great jump on 2008,” said Commissioner McLeod.

Elizabeth Corrow, Town Manager of Bristol and the newest member of the NH state steering committee said, “I don’t want anyone to get discouraged – It’s important for New Hampshire to keep taking risks like this.  This is a great event and it would have been crazy not to jump aboard and be involved.  The fact that we have even more time to make it happen is great – it will be that much better!”

By postponing the race, the organizers will have more time to create an international event that is well thought out, properly planned, attracts the world’s elite riders and can be replicated annually.  They also are planning some ancillary events that promote healthy living and the importance of teamwork through sports.

The Montréal-Boston Tour was granted a 2.1 license by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in September 2006.  Such a license enables organizers to invite the same caliber of professional racers and national teams as the Tour de France.  The organizers have advised the UCI about the postponement and have requested an extension of the license.

Details about the 2008 race will be announced in September.

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