New North American UCI Race for Women for 2014

Tour de Delta Gets 1.2 UCI International Status for Women’s Road Race

In 2013 I was proud to be named Ambassador for BC Superweek.  I won the opening stage and final race general classification with my team, NOW and Novartis for MS.  My teammates swept the podium in other stages of the event. Check details from the press release here:

BC Superweek has announced that the international governing body of cycling, Union Cycliste International (UCI), has officially upgraded the 2014 Women’s White Spot | Delta Road Race to a 1.2 UCI sanctioned event.

“The Corporation of Delta is very excited to have the Women’s White Spot | Delta Road Race become a UCI 1.2 sanctioned event and join the men’s race on the international cycling calendar,” said Corporation of Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson. “Delta is a community that encourages active  healthy living and fair play, therefore, the inclusion of the women’s race was a natural step for us to support."

"As the title sponsor for the Delta Road Race, we’re happy to support the growth of women's cycling in British Columbia and Canada with the inclusion of the 2014 race on the UCI calendar,” said White Spot President & CEO Warren Erhart. “It's an honour to be a part of the Delta Road Race since it's first year in 2001 and to see it become an internationally recognized event."

 

With international sanctioning and awarding of official UCI points, the road race will draw a deeper, stronger field of top professional cyclists from all over the world to the already well attended three event Tour de Delta and the rest of the nine race BC Superweek series ...

UCI officials attended and closely examined last year’s race before awarding the certification. White Spot | Delta Road Race Director Mark Ernsting added, “With the inclusion of the women's race into the UCI calendar, this adds significant profile to the Tour de Delta and overall series of BC Superweek.”

“Cycling Canada is extremely pleased to see the White Spot | Delta Road Race for women has now been upgraded to UCI sanctioned event,” said John Tolkamp, President of Cycling Canada. “...we thank all the supporters of the Delta Road Race for making a significant commitment and investment in supporting the growth of women's cycling in Canada and North America.”

“Cycling is definitely one of the most popular outdoor activities in Canada and its popularity  is growing at an exciting rate, that’s why I’m thrilled that the Delta Road Race has become a UCI event for 2014,” BC Superweek Ambassador Lex Albrecht exclaimed. “This new classification has positive repercussions for women’s cycling, riders who represent Canada internationally, and for BC Superweek.”

(UCI points are used to determine the number of entries each country gets into events like the World Championships and Olympics.)

A member of Team NOW and Novartis for MS, Albrecht won the Tour de Delta Criterium and the Tour de White Rock Hill Climb in 2013.“The UCI status will attract teams and riders from around the world, and gives Canada, BC, and the Lower Mainland a chance to shine on an international level,”  continued Albrecht. “Presently, the majority of UCI races are in Europe, which makes accessing points difficult for riders who focus on the North American race circuit. The White Spot | Delta Road Race now brings anopportunity for Canadian riders to score points on home soil.”

BC Superweek is Canada’s biggest cycling series, with $110,000 in prize money available during
nine races over 10 days. BC Superweek takes place in July 2014, and is made up of the Tour de Delta, UBC Grand Prix, Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, Giro di Burnaby and the Tour de White Rock.

Learn more at www.bcsuperweek.ca