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Organizers unveiled the route of the 2006 Tour de Georgia on Tuesday, highlighting the addition of three new host cities – including Chattanooga, Tennessee – and the legendary steep climb up Brasstown Bald Mountain. Scheduled for April 18-23, 2006, the fourth edition of the Tour de Georgia, North America’s only UCI Hors Classe (2.HC) stage race, will include 12 Southeastern cities in two states.
The Tour de Georgiawill begin in Augusta on Tuesday, April 18, and conclude its 650-plusmiles of racing with in Alpharetta on Sunday, April 23. The race will returnto the Georgia communities of Macon, Fayetteville, Rome, Dalton, Dahlonega,Blairsville/Union County, Brasstown Bald Mountain/Towns County and Alpharettaas host cities for official stage start and finish lines. New host citiesfor 2006 include Chattanooga, Chickamauga/Walker County and Cumming/ForsythCounty.
Racers will cover familiar territory during the first two stages of the race as they pedal along the rolling terrain of the southern Atlanta metropolitan area. Stages 3 through 5 incorporate the mountains of northern Georgia, where the Blue Ridge meets the panoramic Appalachians. The final stage will continue to challenge the professional peloton as it passes through the rolling foothills in the northern Atlanta metropolitan area.
The stage 3 individual time trial will incorporate the imposing plateau of Lookout Mountain. The ITT will start in Chickamauga, a region rich in Civil War history, and end in the outdoor playground of Chattanooga, the first time the Tour de Georgia has ventured across state borders.
Details for each of the six stages, including mileage, elevation profiles,sprint lines and king of the mountain climbs are in the final planningprocess. Links are provided at www.tourdegeorgia.com for individuals toplan trips to the Tour or register to become a volunteer. New informationregarding stage details and host city festivities will be released in thecoming weeks. And although three-time Tour de Georgia title sponsor Dodgedid not renew for 2006, the race’s director of communications, Jackie Tyson,assured VeloNews that a title sponsor has been all but finalizedand will be announced shortly.
Atlanta-based MedalistSports, the sports marketing company licensed to operate the Tour and manage route planning, returns at the helm of the Tour de Georgia. Medalist also recently landed contracts to develop the USPRO Championship in Greenville, South Carolina, as well as February’s inaugural Tour of California. Not surprisingly, many of the teams invited to the Tour of California were announced as likely invitees to the Tour de Georgia. In all, 15 teams of eight riders each will be extended special invitations to participate in the Tour de Georgia, including UCI Pro Tour squads such as Discovery Channel, Phonak, CSC and Gerolsteiner. Race organizers expect a formal announcement of participating teams in early 2006.
“We are fortunate to partner with the experience and local leadershipof our host communities, as they have demonstrated a tremendous abilityto entertain huge crowds and provide a safe environment for the world’sbest athletes,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports.“Three of our host cities are new to the Tour de Georgia this year, andwe are excited to bring the race to these vibrant communities.”
The 2005 Tour de Georgia was won by Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel);champions from previous years include Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service)in 2004 and Chris Horner (Saturn) in 2003. The Tour de Georgia is ownedby The Georgia Partnership for Economic Development (GPED) and its officialbeneficiary is the Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC).
• Augusta: Third year to host the tour, with a stage start venue in2003 and overall start in 2005
• Macon: Fourth consecutive year as a host city, having participatedas a stage finish and stage start in 2003, a one-day stage circuit in 2004,and a stage finish in 2005Stage 2: Wednesday, April 19 – Fayetteville to Rome
• Fayetteville: Returns to the tour for a second consecutive year asa stage start
• Rome: Fourth consecutive year as a host city, having participatedas a stage finish in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and having hosted the individualtime trial in 2004 and 2005Stage 3: Thursday, April 20 – Individual time trial from Chickamauga/Walker Co. to Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Chickamauga/Walker Co.: Hosts a stage for the first time, withthe start of the ITT
• Chattanooga: First city outside the state of Georgia to host thetour, with the finish of the ITTStage 4: Friday, April 21 – Dalton to Dahlonega
• Dalton: Fourth consecutive year as a stage start and home to CréditAgricole rider Saul Raisin
• Dahlonega: Third consecutive year as a stage finish, and bringing its renowned Bear in the Square festival to tour fansStage 5: Saturday, April 22 – Blairsville/Union Co. to Brasstown Bald Mountain
• Blairsville/Union County: Returns for second consecutive year as a stage start
• Brasstown Bald Mountain/Towns County: A third consecutive stint as a stage finish, with its epic finish on The Bald, the highest peak in Georgia, and compared to the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de FranceStage 6: Sunday, April 23 – Cumming/Forsyth Co. to Alpharetta
• Cumming/Forsyth County: Inaugural stage host for the tour, with astage start on the final day, in conjunction with the Taste of Forsyth; was a sprint line host community in 2004 and 2005
• Alpharetta: A third year as the overall finish host city, with its signature four-mile finishing circuit
Osipow moving on from Discovery
One familiar face won’t be at the Tour of Georgia next year … at least, in an official role. Longtime Tailwind Sports director of corporate communications and events Dan Osipow distributed an email message on Tuesday announcing that he is moving on after a decade with the sports marketing agency that initially owned the U.S. Postal Service team.
Since 2003, Austin-based Capital Sports & Entertainment (CSE) andTailwind Sports have co-managed the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channelpro cycling teams. Osipow, who lives in San Francisco, will take a postwith ISP Sports and will work in their Berkeley office in the Bay Areaas an associate general manager of Cal Sports Properties.
“I've had an incredible experience working for Tailwind Sports overthe years and am very proud to have contributed even in the smallest wayto the success and growth of this team — first the Subaru-Montgomery team,then Montgomery-Bell, then U.S. Postal Service and now Discovery Channel,”Osipow wrote. “I've traveled the world, met a group of incredible peoplethat I expect to remain close with forever and feel very fortunate to havebeen around for the all of the great moments. From Lance's seven Tour victoriesto even the smallest of races, it's been great. However, I felt it wastime to move on from the team both personally and professionally.”
Osipow’s focus at ISP Sports will be the sponsorship and marketing ofthe University of Cal Berkeley athletic department.
“As everyone knows, the team is in the very capable hands of the CSEgroup in Austin and will continue to flourish for years to come,” Osipowwrote. “It's been an unforgettable experience and one that I will cherishforever.”
Colorado events in danger
The Colorado cycling community is up in arms with the news that theColorado State Patrol has added a new policy that could disable some thebiggest bicycle events in the state. The new policy limits bicycle andtriathlon events to 2500 riders, but the limit can be lowered at any time,putting the state’s most popular events at risk. Bicycle races, tours,charity rides, group rides and triathlons are all affected.
Bicycle Colorado, a non-profit coalition of individuals, organizationsand bicycling-related businesses, has posted anonline petition urging interested cyclists to voice their concernsto state officials.
“The State Patrol says that they are using this ban to ‘ensure safety,’”Bicycle Colorado’s Web site states, “but a random cap has no effect onthe safety of bicyclists. Safety is based on good event planning, educatedbicyclists, traffic management plans, safe roads, and law-abiding motorists.A well-run event can be safe for 10,000 bicyclists and a poorly run eventcan be unsafe for 100 riders. An arbitrary cap punishes everyone and discouragesall events.”
Events that draw more than 2500 participants include the Iron HorseClassic, the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival, the Triple Bypass, the Mt.Evans Hill Climb, the MS 150 charity ride, the Courage Classic, the Tourde Cure and the Bicycle Tour of Colorado.
“We formally asked the State Patrol to reverse their decision and theydeclined,” Bicycle Colorado states on its Web site. “In State Patrol’sreply to Bicycle Colorado they said that, ‘the primary reason for thischange in policy is due to safety.’ But according to Scot Harris, directorof the Elephant Rock ride, the state’s largest bicycle event, they’ve hadonly one car-bike crash in the 19-year history of this event. States likeNew York, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, and California safely handle events with10,000, 20,000 and even 30,000 bicyclists. There is no reason Coloradocannot do so as well.”
Jittery Joe’s-Zero Gravity releases 2006 roster
The team roster for the 2006 “Bean Team” has been finalized and released.The team will bring back Aussie sprinter Jeff Hopkins as well as Evan Elkenand Craig Wilcox. New additions include Australian Trent Wilson from Colombia-SelleItalia, Neil Shirley from Seasilver, Phil Wong from Fiordifrutta, AustinKing from the Belgian Cycling Center, Marc Anderson from Loco’s Deli andPub and neo-roadie Peter Hatton from Australia.
“We are really excited about our new additions for next year, “ saysMicah Rice, the team’s general manager, “We have Trent Wilson, who hasfinished the Giro the last couple of years, and neo-pro Peter Hatton whowon the KOM jersey and finished fifth overall in Australia’s Sun Tour lastmonth. Neil is a great pickup from Seasilver and Phil Wong showed thathe was ready to take on the pro ranks with some of the best GC finishesby an amateur in 2005. Marc Anderson is a strong local rider from Athens,Georgia, ready to make the jump, and Austin King has been slogging it outin Europe the past few years doing great work for the U.S. national teamand the ABC-Aitos team in Belgium.”
Another addition of note is former Jittery Joe’s pro Jesse Lawler, whowill be working as the team director in 2006. “Jesse was my teammateon Zaxby’s before riding with Jittery Joe’s for all four years,” said Rice.“It is a perfect situation because we already know how each other workand he has a lot of experience to bring to the staff side of the table.”
The 2006 Jittery Joe’s-Zero Gravity rosterJeff HopkinsEvan ElkenCraig WilcoxTrent WilsonNeil ShirleyMarc AndersonPhil WongPeter HattonAustin King
Norco returns with Symmetrics
Symmetrics Cycling, the 2005 number-three team in the UCI Americascontinental rankings, has announced that NorcoPerformance Bicycles will renew as a sponsor of the team for 2006with financial and product support for the Canadian professional road team.
Norco has significantly stepped up its product commitment in sponsoringSymmetrics Cycling for the coming season. The team will be outfitted withNorco Team Carbon CRR frames and forks for training and Norco Team CarbonCRR frames for racing. In addition, Symmetrics will use the Norco DiaboliqueTT frame/fork for time trials. Norco will also provide race-techniciansupport at selected high-level Canadian events as well as a considerablefinancial contribution to the race team.
“Norco is very excited to return for our fourth season as a title bikesponsor and partner with Canada’s premier road team,” said Peter Stace-Smith,Norco’s marketing manager. “In the past, Norco has been regarded as primarilya mountain-bike company, but through our support of the team we’ve beenable to showcase our world class road bikes as well. Symmetrics is quicklybecoming one of North America’s top pro teams and we are proud to be apart of their success.”
