Jasper has captured the attention of the Tour of Alberta.
Organizers of the professional cycling event—which sees 120 world-class athletes cycle upwards of 700 kms in six days—attended the Oct. 21 council meeting, to gauge whether the community is interested in hosting next year’s Stage 2 finish line.
The Tour of Alberta is the highest ranking cycling event in the country, attracting the same cyclists that compete at the Tour de France. The inaugural event was held in 2013, taking cyclists from Edmonton to Calgary; in 2014, the route was reversed.
Now that the event is established, attracting 200,000 spectators and 41 million international television viewers, the hope is to showcase other areas of Alberta, including Jasper National Park, said Duane Vienneau, the tour’s executive director.
Hosting a finish line comes with a hefty rights fee of $150,000. (A start is $100,000.)
When explaining the fee, Vienneau said, “I don’t want to scare ya, so don’t be scared.
“I can tell you through conversations with your mayor and [Coun. Dwain Wacko], we know that the rights fee would be a challenge in Jasper, so we’re looking at things right now to help figure that out.”
Vienneau also pointed out that, although there is a fee for hosting the event, there is also a great benefit.
“We drive economic activity. We stay in the locations that support the event from a partnership perspective.”
That includes enough hotel rooms for the 1,000-person entourage that makes up the event—everyone from the cyclists to the medics, police and event organizers.
To bring the event to Jasper, Vienneau said he would need to receive confirmation from council by the end of the month.
“We’re trying to have the communities finalized by the end of October. That’s why we’re here is to talk quickly,” he said, noting that the sooner the communities are confirmed, the sooner planning can begin.
If the tour receives support from the community, as well as approval from Parks Canada and Alberta Transportation, the cyclists will roll through Jasper on Friday, Sept. 4—Labour Day long weekend.
This will be the tour’s first time heading north, with the race beginning with time trials in Grande Prairie on Sept. 2. The following day, the County of Grande Prairie will host Stage 1 and on Sept. 4, the proposed route is Grande Cache to Jasper, making up Stage 2 of the race.
The remaining routes will see the cyclists travel from Edson to Spruce Grove in Stage 3, through Strathcona County in Stage 4 and on a circuit in Edmonton for the fifth and final stage.
“One of the common themes [we’ve heard from] a bunch of the cycling enthusiasts from around the world is Alberta has some of the best mountainous regions in the world, why aren’t you racing there?
“This is one of the reasons we are here today, because we would really like to bring the race to the town of Jasper and show off the beautiful town and the mountains and the region.”
To make that a reality, Vienneau explained that first and foremost he needs to know there’s community support for the event, to ensure that there will be volunteers available to make it a success.
Both council and members of the public were quick to express that support, Oct. 21.
“This community has a history of supporting events,” said Wacko. “We’ve had the Alberta Winter Games here and the Canada Winter Games and those events were supported by the municipality and I would suggest that we could look at a similar contribution from the municipality.”
“You have a group of very enthusiastic riders and community volunteer types here; this is the town you want to come to,” said local cyclist Rich Potter. “There’s a strong group of people here that will help make this thing happen. If you need any enthusiastic support, I’m one of a number of people who could give you that support.”
Matt Staneland of the Jasper Park Cycling Association echoed those comments, and added that the event would provide great exposure for the fabulous cycling opportunities within the park.
“This is too good an opportunity to pass up because it might not be back for four or five years.”
Ralph Melnyk of Mountain Park Lodges also expressed his support and noted that the organizers will need to book their hotel rooms soon if they intend to stay in Jasper on Labour Day long weekend.
“We’re excited. We’d love to see you here in September. I think there’s still an opportunity at this stage for support within the hotel group to provide the logistics that you need to pull this off.”
Council will further discuss the request at the committee-of-the-whole meeting Oct. 28.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
