The Tour de l’Île de Montréal has quickly become the biggest cycling event of the year in Quebec. It's a success that has been formalized since the event was first held 40 years ago.
October 13, 1985. The first Tour de l'Île takes place on a cold, windy autumn day in torrential rain. Only half of those registered set off to brave the bad weather. Vélo Québec, which is new to organizing this kind of mega-event, has learned its lesson: if this annual event is to become a must, it will have to be better positioned in the calendar. And why not on International Bicycle Day in early June?
The following eight months proved difficult, however. In Quebec City, the new government refused to support Vélo Québec financially, and the organization struggled to attract sponsors. Nevertheless, the second time was the charm. The expected 15,000 participants turned up - even though it was still pouring with rain that morning!The Tour de l'Île really took off in 1986,« says Suzanne Lareau, who was working at Vélo Québec at the time. She would later become CEO.
«A happening»
26,000 participants in 1987, 32,000 in 1988, 38,000 in 1989... The figures speak for themselves: the Tour de l'Île craze was as sudden as it was tremendous. So much so, that in the early 1990s, a maximum limit of 45,000 participants was set, a threshold that was reached from 1992 to 1997. We had to keep the Tour de l'Île fun and safe for everyone,« says Suzanne Lareau. Just imagine: thousands of registrations were being returned by mail due to lack of space!»
It was at this time that the grammar of the event was established. Each year, participants pedal a 60-70 km loop that takes them to different corners of the island of Montreal. «We used to alternate between the east and west ends of the city. Over the years, we even crossed at Laval and Longueuil, and took to the bridges,» she recalls. Parcs La Fontaine, Jeanne-Mance, Jarry... The departure and arrival sites also change over time.
A few missteps are inevitably made too. We quickly learned about fluid mechanics when, shortly after the start, we had to turn our thousands of participants from an eight-lane road to a four-lane road, then to a two-lane road,« illustrates Suzanne Lareau. You can imagine the traffic jam! Participants don't know it, but thousands of hours of work spread over almost 10 months are required to organize the Tour de l'Île.
Even the possibility, as of 1992, for merchants to open on Sundays, the day of the event, posed a challenge. Since then, Vélo Québec has had to contend with heavier traffic on Montreal streets, making operations more complex. Despite this, the good mood remains. «Right from the start, the Tour de l'Île
testifies to Quebecers» enthusiasm for cycling and the car-free city," says Suzanne Lareau. Even today, it's an exceptional happening that makes people want to get on their bikes.»