In 2001 the Tour de Bowness, a premier cycling event that first hit the road along the historic main street in the west Calgary neighbourhood of Bowness. Since then, the race has evolved into a three-legged event that spans across three days, beginning with a tumultuous multi-kilometre road race north of Cochrane.
On August 2, the Tour de Bowness will see potentially hundreds of cyclists line up at the starting line for the 2025 race. At 8:15 am at Weedon Pioneer Hall at the corner of Weedon Trail and Range Road 42, the first category of racers will embark on a 88 kilometre route along Horse Creek Road to Range Road 284 and back. By 10:35 am, men and women in the higher category race will embark on a 132 km track.
The Tour de Bowness has been organized by the Alberta Bicycling Association, which has also made the Tour a provincial championship race, and the first day of the Tour de Bowness has been held north of Cochrane since 2010. The following day, the race will move into Calgary for a gruelling hill climb along MacKay Road, before finishing off on Monday, August 4 with a criterium (a short circuit along a straight road that allows racers to reach speeds of close to 70 kilometres) on Bowness Road.
“Over the past two decades, the Tour de Bowness has grown into one of the premier amateur cycling races in Western Canada,” reads a statement by Bowcycle, the bike shop in Calgary that organizes and puts on the race. “What started in 2001 with just the Bowness Criterium has expanded year after year, as Bow Cycle continues to find new ways to bring more people into this amazing sport.”
On the Tour’s website, it describes the Cochrane leg of the Tour de Bowness as a race held “on the picturesque yet challenging Horse Creek Road north of Cochrane,” which tests riders with its tough climbs and sharp turns. “The infamous "hill" on the return lap is where the competition truly heats up, often deciding who takes home the top placements.”
Race Director Bob Grunewald said the Cochrane road race has offered cyclists a challenging first leg of the Tour de Bowness. “The big hill between Range Road 280 and 284, that’s usually a good spot for breaks to come. Once someone can make it up the hill they can make it downhill and keep away [from the rest of the riders],” said Grunewald. “Or it’ll just break people.”
Grunewald said the road race typically takes two hours on average to be completed, and some of the more senior and experienced racers typically average around 37 kilometres an hour.
Over the years the Tour de Bowness has changed to include more racers, like with the addition of youth racers in 2023, and para-cyclists in 2024. This year, Bow Cycle believes the 2025 race will be the best one yet.
