Morinville may have seen the last of the Tour de l’Alberta now that the town has decided to step back as co-ordinator of the event.
The Town of Morinville sent out a notice last week that it had given its 30-day written notice to end its agreement with the Edmonton Bicycle and Touring Club to co-host the Tour de l’Alberta – an annual cycling event that saw almost 1,000 riders roll through town last August. The 30-day notice was given on Jan. 29.
The town has been the co-host of the event since 2014 and has been the ride’s start and end point since 2008.
The Edmonton bicycle club couldn’t come up with the volunteers needed to run last year’s event, and the town had to take up the slack, said Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes. It was a lot of work and in-kind contributions, especially since the town was supposed to be only a 50 per cent partner for the event.
“We just don’t have the capacity to handle it,” she said.
“The responsibility fell on the town in order to make it a success, and we don’t feel we can continue to do that.”
The club was disappointed by the town’s decision, said Charles World, president of the Edmonton bicycle club. Still, he acknowledged that running the event was a “daunting” task, as you need showers and facilities, truckloads of food, and scores of volunteers to man radios, rest stops, and repair crews – that’s why they partnered with the town in the first place.
Last November, Schaun Goodeve, Morniville’s economic development co-ordinator, told council that last year’s event drew some 972 riders – down considerably from the 1,500 the year before. While the event did make $25,788, this did not account for all the in-kind services the town provided. Town staff recommended that the town scale back its involvement as a result.
World said the club definitely wants to keep the event going, but needs a new group to lead it. While the club would like to keep the event’s start and end point in Morinville due to its francophone roots (the Tour passes through many francophone communities to reflect its namesake, the Tour de France), that will depend on the availability of town facilities on race day. He’s also not sure if the town will be on the race’s route at all this year.
“Everything’s up in the air,” World said, and the club won’t meet until March to discuss the details.
Control of the event now reverts back to the club, Holmes said. The town will definitely consider sponsoring it, and may organize a similar event of its own.
While the Tour de l’Alberta brings great exposure to the town, council wants to focus on events that were put on for town residents (most of the tour’s participants are from out of town), Holmes said. They also didn’t see much in the way of spinoff business from the tour.
Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce president Simon Boersma said he wasn’t sure what the event brought to the town in terms of tourism or business dollars (as they hadn’t studied it and it happened on a Sunday), but did note that it put this region on the map.
“It was a lot of work,” he added, and many businesses stepped up to help run it.
The club is now looking for a small community that’s willing to host the event and that has the facilities to handle up to 1,500 riders, World said. Morinville was ideal because Westlock and Legal lacked the necessary facilities. While the event used to start in St. Albert, World ruled it out because it has too much traffic.
The club has no plans to delay this year’s event, and plans to hold it on July 24 – a return to the tradition of holding it on the last day of the Tour de France.
“It will happen, just in what nature or what format or where has yet to be determined at this time,” he said.
