Town council carried a motion that Cochrane be approved as a pass-through community for the 2014 Tour of Alberta.
The international cycling event is a six-stage race that is slated to start in Calgary Sept. 2 and end in Edmonton Sept. 7. The estimated distance of the tour will be more than 850 kilometres. Last year, the cycling trek took athletes through more than 50 communities.
There are no upfront costs associated with being a pass-through community, although town administration estimated security costs of no more than $5,000.
Representatives from the Tour of Alberta will keep Cochrane’s interest in mind while routing the racecourse. However, there is no guarantee that the town will make it on the final map.
“We’d love Cochrane to be a part of the tour, but it only works if we have start and finish communities that work with it,” said Duane Vienneau, executive director of the Tour of Alberta.
Vienneau said the group hopes to release the names of the host communities in March. From there, technicians will hit the roads to develop the official course.
If Cochrane does make the route, cyclists will be in the area for about 15 minutes.
The other option presented — as an official host ‘finish’ community — would require a financial investment of about $150,000.
Administration estimated expenses associated with being a ‘finish’ host community — such as road closures, permits, traffic control, parking and RCMP — to tally a cost of about $67,000. These numbers are based on the costs incurred by the City of Red Deer as a finish stage in 2013.
The pro-cycling festival has an international reach, both in terms of participation and exposure. The extensive media coverage provides host start and finish communities to showcase their community as a destination provincially, nationally and internationally.
Tour of Alberta anticipated about $30-$35 million in economic impact for Alberta as a result of the international cycling event.
About 300,000 total spectators are expected to take in the race.
