David Veilleux (Team Europcar) will have the opportunity of racing a World Tour event in his hometown tomorrow when he lines up in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. The Europcar team will go there as the defending champions after Thomas Voeckler won the race last year.
“I feel very privileged. I am very fortunate to have the chance to be racing at the World Tour level in my home of Québec,” Veilleux told VeloNation ahead of the event.
The 23 year old joined the French squad for the 2011 season after spending most of his career on the American Kelly Benefit Strategies team. He has had to adapt to European racing quickly, which he did well, highlighted by winning La Roue Tourangelle and finishing 25th in Paris Roubaix.
“The season has been good. Racing in Europe is very different from what I was used to in America, but I learned a lot and I’m happy with my season. My goal was to learn and to gain experience this year and I that’s exactly what I did,” said Veilleux.
“Chances are very good I will be back with [Europcar] next year, but I haven’t signed a contract yet. I am looking at the different possibilities.”
After Friday’s race, Veilleux and the team will head to the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday in which he is hoping to do well, as it will be his last chance to impress the national selectors for the world championships in Copenhagen.
The young Canadian is no slouch in the individual time trial and could make the team after he won the bronze medal in the race against the clock at his national time trial championships this year. He also finished fourteenth in the road race.
When asked about selection for the world championships he said, “after the weekend, the final selection for Worlds will be known, so I don’t know yet. [For the rest of the season] I will be doing the Franco-Belge, Paris-Bourges and finish the season with the Pan-American Games.”