January 13, 2025 - You’ve been patient while we’ve been busy working behind the scenes, but now it all starts to happen. Registration for the 30th edition of Paris to Ancaster Bicycle Race on April 27 is now open! Register for P2A VIP, P2A CENTO, P2A CLASSIC, and the P2A BRÈVE.

Exciting News
This year’s P2A is a qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships!  Participants can qualify for the championships in Nice, France, by finishing in the top 25% of their age group for UCI distance categories.

Here’s what you need to know about P2A as a qualifier for the UCI Gravel world Championships!
• UCI Gravel World Series Event: The P2A is officially part of the UCI Gravel World Series, a collection of premier gravel cycling events held worldwide.
• World Championship Pathway: Riders can qualify for the prestigious UCI Gravel World Championships by competing in P2A.
• Top 25% Qualification Rule: To qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships, riders must finish in the top 25% of their age group categories at P2A.

Stay tuned as we release even more info over the coming months on what to expect and how to make the most of your experience this year.

Register here.

A message from race directors John and Tim

Hi All,

Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year.    Now is it time to start thinking about bike racing J.

We have had a lot going on behind the scenes at P2A that we wanted to share it with you.

Big news is that we are now on the UCI gravel calendar!   This is a series of races around the world with opportunities to qualify for the World Championships in Nice in October!  This is a logical extension for P2A – since hosting the Nationals a couple of years ago, we have been looking for whats next – so now we are going from National to International.  The UCI event allows riders who finish in the top 25% of their age group (5 year brackets) to qualify to represent Canada at the World Gravel Championships in Nice, France.  Nice huh?

At the same time we want to keep the grassroots feel of the event, which has always been Ontario focused – to help with this we are introducing the Creemore Team Corral – we will be offering team tents to all teams registered with Ontario Cycling.  This will be a licensed area sponsored by Creemore.

While the UCI designation is bringing some changes to the Cento, the Classic and Breve remain the same.  The majority of the categories for the UCI event will start in Paris in three separate starts.  This year after consulting with past P2A athletes, pros, and other cycling officials, P2A will be a wave start with elite men and women separated by 5 minutes, followed by age groupers.    While we have had separate starts in the past, this will be the first time in 30 editions that we have the opportunity to have the pro women start separately from the elite men.  Until now the womens race was impacted by the mens race in a way that was sometimes intimidating for female athletes and certainly created a different style of race.

The classic start will be as in the past with Elite, UCI and VIP starting in the first wave.   UCI categories for men over 65 and women over 50 will participate in the Classic event.   The classic will once again start at the Waynco Quarry, just south of Cambridge.

As in past years the Breve will start at St. George arena.

This is the 30th edition of P2A so as a part of our celebration we wanted to share some of the history of this unique event.   Observant riders may have noticed there are 12 “named” sections on the course – we are going to share the origins of the names – some true, likely some fabricated….

Today section, the Nixon-McIntyre rail line is the off road section between Howell Rd. and Hwy 5.  At one point it was an active rail line – we descend the remnants of the bridge that use to go over Hwy 5 (wish it still existed!).  When the rail line closed down, the local residents were given the option to buy sections on their properties – the Nixon and McIntyre families own this section, and it has been on the race course since day one.  In fact we are now dealing with the third generation of Nixons – who have been in the area even longer than that.  Some of you may have noticed that section of Hwy 5 is called “Nixon’s Way:”

 True story.

– John and Tim

We Want to Hear From You!
Share your love for P2A by submitting a 30 second, vertical video of yourself answering two questions: What do you love most about P2A, and what are you most excited about for this year’s race?

Send your video to clarissa@greeningmarketing.ca, and if your submission is featured on P2A’s social media or email communications, you’ll be entered into a draw to win a VIP registration!

*By submitting a video, you are giving Paris to Ancaster consent to use the video on social media platforms and email communications.*

Register for P2A 2025 here.