Fuck the Death Ride...Here Comes the Tour de California

[Arty50]

Just imagine...Sac to Tahoe...and then Tioga...

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sa...17/story1.html

Tour de California race lining up for '06 start

Mark Anderson
Staff Writer

The group planning a professional California bicycle race as good as the Tour de France expects to announce next month that a major California corporation has signed on as a name sponsor for the debut race in the spring of 2006.

The organizers of the Tour de California have kept pretty quiet the past year, but that promises to change in February as details of the race are unveiled.

Planned as an annual event, the Tour de California would include nine stages over two weeks, with world-class cyclists racing through California's prettiest landscapes. One demanding stage would start at the Capitol in Sacramento and go more than 100 miles up the Sierra Nevada to Lake Tahoe.

"We want to show off California, and this is a great way to do it," said Richard Riordan, California's secretary of education and one of the initial organizers. As former mayor of Los Angeles, he approved races and marathons through the city that drew large crowds and publicity.

Riordan said California has the perfect climate and a huge following of homegrown cycling enthusiasts.

A professional race typically has 100 to 200 riders in the peloton, or group of riders. They move fast, requiring only brief road closures.

Few details for the tour, including the logistics of the nine stages, have been completed so far. When the Business Journal first wrote about the tour last June, some organizers thought the race might start this year.

But starting by this March, the prefer-red month, became impossible. The race is set for late February or early March 2006.

Ride to Tahoe 'would kill me'

The Sacramento-Tahoe stretch "would be the most difficult stage of the race. It's a long distance and very steep terrain," said Matt Toledo, publisher of the Los Angeles Business Journal and another initial organizer of the tour. The Los Angeles newspaper is not part of the same company that owns the Sacramento Business Journal.

Another stage would go from Napa to the Golden Gate Bridge area, and another would include the Yosemite Valley. There are also plans for stages in the Monterey area, Santa Barbara area and the Santa Monica Mountains in northern Los Angeles.

"If you see a video or photo montage of the nine days of the race, it would be some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. That is California, and that is what we are trying to show," Toledo said.

"This will not be a modest race," he said. "This will be an internationally sanctioned world-class cycling event."

The runs from Sacramento to Tahoe and in Yosemite would be grueling mountain stages on par with some of the unrelenting climbs of European racing.

"Sacramento to Tahoe would be comparable to a typical Tour de France mountain stage," said Paul Dorn, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition in Sacramento. "It's incredible. I couldn't do it. It would kill me, but these guys are pros and they race up the mountains."

San Francisco race had $36M impact

Toledo said the marketing for the race will be handled by "the premier sports marketing company" in the country. He won't name that company or the major sponsor until they sign contracts, which is supposed to happen in the next few weeks.

He said the negotiations with a main sponsor are fairly advanced, with several companies interested in putting their names on what they say would become a high-profile international event. He wouldn't say how much the name sponsor will have to pony up to get the naming rights.

Money from the name sponsor and others are needed to pay for organizing the race and awarding prize money. The event doesn't charge admission, so all the money is generated from sponsorships.

The accessibility of the race is part of its attraction -- the riders whir past small towns and through big cities, allowing a huge audience. The race also would be televised, and probably get reported by the national sports media.

The race logistics for the Tour de California would likely be handled by Threshold Sports LLC of Philadelphia, although the company wouldn't confirm its involvement this week.

Threshold was one of the consultants brought in early to develop the race a year ago. Its Pro Cycling subsidiary puts on professional races in San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York.

The San Francisco Grand Prix last September -- officially known as the 2004 T-Mobile International, Presented By BMC Software -- generated an estimated $36 million for the city's local economy. That race runs 108 miles on an 8.8-mile circuit and has a $65,000 purse.

Learning from Georgia

The California race would follow the successful path of the Dodge Tour de Georgia, which started in 2003 as a six-stage professional race. Last April it drew some 748,000 spectators to watch 120 professional cyclists compete.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de Georgia last year, just before he went off to win the Tour de France for a record fifth time. The third Dodge Tour de Georgia runs April 19-24 this year.

The 2004 Tour de Georgia had a $70 million economic impact on Georgia, from hotel room stays and restaurant meals to increased tourism. A Georgia Institute of Technology study of the race found that 31 percent of respondents to a survey traveled from out of state, and more than half of them spent a night in a hotel.

"The Dodge Tour de Georgia has a huge economic impact, and that is in Georgia" said Jim Passentino, a Los Angelino and an original organizer working with Riordan on developing the California race. "Can you imagine what it will be like here?"

[Arty50]

http://www.tourofcalifornia.com/

Edit: WTF are they thinking? I don't think anyone will be riding through the Sierras in February.

[lph]

i think february is when the website will be up and they unveil the details of the race. there is no way anyone is stupid enough to plan a race like that for february, at least i hope not.

[cj001f]

"The race is set for late February or early March 2006"

A very cool idea, but whoever scheduled it is on crack.

[glademaster]

Whoever scheduled it is certainly on crack, but that would be a pretty exciting race to watch, it would test the riders for sure....

[Big E]

So, technique question, when riding with spikes in your tires, are most people clipped in or not? Cuz they're gonna have to decide if they're riding in February.

[lph]

those dates have GOTTA be a mistake.

[Plakespear]

There is no way that they will attract top international talent to the West Coast in March. The ten hour time difference will detract a lot of top talent from making the trip. Nobody wants to mess with their body clocks so soon before the Spring Classics. The best time to hold the race would be right after the T-Mobile in San Francisco.

[Viva]

They can plan a stage or two through the Sierras and wait ad see if the weather cooperates. If not, there will be alternate routes.

Plake, "world-class" cyclists aren't limited to the European peloton. There's plenty of world-class talent here in the Americas as well as second teamers from Europe who won't be doing all of the classics. Ever heard of Redlands Classic, held in February? That race's been doing well for a couple of decades.

[descender]

This would be cool.

Although I don't think Sac to tahoe is that steep. It is probably 6% or so? But I guess it depends on what route they take.

[Gebster]

So if the TDF has drunken schloogs and schmenges according to Bob Roll, what will the Tour de California have? Drunken maggots?

[Greydon Clark]

They can plan a stage or two through the Sierra and wait ad see if the weather cooperates. If not, there will be alternate routes.

What? Any route to Tahoe involves crossing an 8,000 foot pass that average 400” of snow. In February, finding conditions that would be favorable for bike racing seems highly unlikely.

[cj001f]

In February, finding conditions that would be favorable for bike racing seems highly unlikely.

Most of northern california would produce less than ideal biking conditions. Marin & Monterey - downpours here we come!