Hosted by Allo Vélo

October 19, 2022 - Cargo bike fans were stoked to see the historic Montréal Cargo Bike Crit kick off at Olympic Stadium on Aug. 21 during the Jackalope Festival that weekend — the first-ever in Canada, and as far as we know in North America.

Hosted by Allo Vélo Inc., which operates two retail bicycle shops, one in Montréal and one in Vancouver, the inaugural event featured three categories, including non-electric and e-cargo bikes, 2-wheelers, as well as 3-wheelers on a 500m course.

“We had some challenges, of course,” said Lamar Timmins, Allo Vélo’s owner. “But overall, it was great to see it come together and get the event off the ground. About 20 participants signed up, and more would have been better for sure, but everyone had a great time.”

Participants were revved up and all smiles, receiving a nice swag bag with T-shirt, hat, etc. from the event sponsors. “Plus, we had great prizes from Ortlieb, Abus, Schwalbe, Wera and Sweet Protection, and nice trophies as well for the winners,” shared Timmins.

During a travelling stint in Europe, Timmins had participated in some great cargo bike crit races in Berlin, Germany, with as many as 50 participants, and he was keen to bring that excitement to Canada. Teaming up with the Jackalope Festival had benefits with a known event and crowds on hand, but they were also the new kids on the block.

“It was a great experience and we learned a lot, but it seems best to host future events on our own going forward for better control,” commented Timmins. “Our team did a great job, from having to set up the course last minute to keeping us on schedule once things got underway.”

The non-electric category was the busiest with enough entrants to hold qualifiers and finals. The 3-wheel e-cargo bike category became a demonstration event for fun only using units that Allo Vélo supplied, as no participants had signed up for this category.

“People loved the obstacle course we set up where they had to load and unload items like foam noodles, empty beer cases, etc. during the race. After the event, we heard from many people who wished they had known about it — so we plan to work better with the local community going forward,” added Timmins.

Plans going forward include a Halloween cargo-bike event, along with more fun gatherings aimed at building a larger Montréal Cargo Bike Crit event next year.