Tour de l’Île: thousands of cyclists in the streets of Montreal on Sunday

This event, which was eagerly awaited by cycling enthusiasts, nevertheless causes some disruption for motorists since several streets are closed until 4 p.m.

The 36 km route, completely closed to automobile traffic, crosses seven boroughs of the metropolis, namely the Plateau Mont-Royal, Rosemont–La-Petite-Patrie, Outremont, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , Sud-Ouest, Verdun and Ville-Marie as well as the city of Westmount.

The first cyclists left at 9:30 a.m. from three starting points: Parc La Fontaine, on the Plateau-Mont-Royal, Parc MacDonald, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Angrignon park, in the South-West. The last wave will start at 11 a.m.

The president and CEO of Vélo Québec, Jean-François Rheault, invites motorists to “take five minutes to look at the map [sur le site web de Vélo Québec], look at the route to avoid finding themselves in an unfortunate situation”.

Several smiles on faces

While chatting with several cycling enthusiasts who were queuing up to get a ticket, Jean-François Rheault noticed that they were eager to participate in this festive event.

Several smiles were also on the faces of the cyclists who took part in the Tour la nuit on Friday evening.

“That’s the fun of the island tour. It really is a party. We reclaim the space of the streets for a few hours. It allows young and old to circulate safely, ”he said in an interview with LCN.