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Nov 9, Tour de Georgia 2008: The future looks bright; host cities to be announced Dec 5th
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| Tour de Georgia 2007 Stage Details | |||
| 1 | Monday, April 16th | 97 mi | |
| Peachtree City → Macon | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | slides | |||
| 2 | Tuesday, April 17th | 135 mi | |
| Thomaston → Rome | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | slides | |||
| 3 | Wednesday, April 18th | 118 mi | |
| Rome → Chattanooga, TN | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | slides | |||
| 4 | Thursday, April 19th | 18.9 mi | |
| Chickamauga, GA → Lookout Mountain TT | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | slides | |||
| 5 | Friday, April 20th | 107 mi | |
| Dalton → Brasstown Bald Mountain [profile] | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | |||
| 6 | Saturday, April 21st | 113.5 mi | |
| Lake Lanier Islands → Stone Mountain Park | |||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | |||
| 7 | Sunday, April 22nd | 77 mi | |
| Atlanta (Centennial Olympic Park) | Circuit |
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| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | |||
| Total Distance | 667 mi | ||
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| Everyone loves an (overall) winner: Janez Brajkovic, Discovery Channel photo: Frank Steele |
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| Cesar Grajales made sure his local Jittery Joe's team got lots of air time and earned most aggressive rider honors. photo: missingsaddle |
Stage 7 Results: 1 Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) 77 mi, 2:25:30 2 Freddie Rodriguez (Predictor Lotto) 3 Sergey Lagutin (Navigators Insurance) Complete Results
Final Overall Standings 1 Janez Brajkovic, Discovery Channel 1058.9km in 25:26:33 (41.619kph) 2 Christian Vande Velde, CSC, at 0:12 3 David Canada Gracia, Saunier at 3:04 4 Rubens Bertogliati, Saunier at 3:06 5 Kevin Seeldraeyers, QSI at 4:22 6 Scott Nydam, BMC at 5:35 7 Jeff Louder, HealthNet at 6:00 8 Timothy Johnson. HealthNet at 6:59 9 Lucas Euser, Slipstream at 10:08 10 Ivan Santaromita, QSI at 12:15
Watch the last 10 minutes of Stage 7:
| Tour de Georgia TV Schedule | |
 April 22 update:
Here's another reminder that highlights of the Tour de Georgia will be broadcast as part of Versus' Cyclysm Sundays over two days. Stages 1-4: April 28th at 5-7pm ET and Stages 5-7: April 29th at 5-7pm ET. Find your VERSUS channel number.April 29 update: Here are the VERSUS online highlights |
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| All 115 lbs of the race leader, Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel) photo: Mark Blacknell |
Once again, you can (try to) follow the action live via the Tour Tracker (with video/audio?) or with live text updates. Seeing as it's a circuit race tomorrow, it should be easier to provide live coverage. — Steve
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| The Perfect Bike Throw courtesy of Phoenix Sports Technology |
April 21 4:30 PM EST update: The return to the flatlands and gruppo compacto has brought the sprinters to the front for the first time all week. Freddie Rodriguez ends a dry/injury/domestique spell and wins "a full-on field sprint"; his first win since last year's event. With no teammates at the front and a healthy 200 meters to go, Freddie jumped and held off Juan Jose Haedo at the line with a well executed bike throw 
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| photo: Mark Blacknell |
| Stage 6 Video Highlights (6:22 mins) |
Stage 6 Results: 1 Freddie Rodriguez (Predictor Lotto) 2 Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) 3 George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) Complete Results
GC Standings after Stage 6 and
Best Young Rider Classification
Read how the race unfolded minute-by-minute and the Stage 6 post-race quotes.
Casey Gibson's Stage 6 photos
Cyclingnews Stage 6 photos
April 20 update: Lake Lanier Islands Resort, a 1,100-acre property with a variety of year-round amenities, will host the Stage Six 12:00 noon start at Holiday Point. Cyclists will see spectators lining the roads on foot, bicycles and even houseboats. With the climbing over for the week, Stage Six will cover all new territory across 113.5 miles of rolling hills, with sprint lines in the small towns of Buford and Social Circle. Going south in Hall County and then east through Gwinnett and Barrow counties, the route turns back to the west in Social Circle towards DeKalb County. The race will pass through the village of Stone Mountain and enter Stone Mountain Park at the West Gate (at approx 3:30 PM) for two laps inside the Park. This section will take the riders along the hilly terrain by the golf course, with a finish line on Old Hugh Howell. Stone Mountain Park, with over 3,200 acres, is Georgia's most visited attraction, drawing nearly four million guests each year. See the links in the stage summary table (right) for the Stage Six ride profile, map and timetable. Here are the updated team rosters after Stage Five. — Steve
Once again, you can follow the action live via the Tour Tracker (with video/audio?) or with live text updates.
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| Levi and Danielson were the only ones who could stay with Simoni as he hit it on a steep section leading to Brasstown Bald photo courtesy of Andy Padyk |
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| Altanta Velo cyclists must be a hit with the locals! photo by: TimothyJ |
Christian Vandevelde attempted to drop Janez Brajkovic on the steep finishing grade, but couldn't so there is no change in the first GC position. However, a day after losing the leader's jersey, David Canada Gracia, has clawed back onto the podium at the expense of his Saunier Duval - Prodir teammate, Rubens Bertogliati, and now sits in third by just 2 seconds. Tyler Hamilton placed 71st on the day, 10+ minutes behind Levi's winning time. Full report and photos. Also, checkout Spare Cycles' brief report and Stage Five Quotes.
| Stage 5 Video: Brasstown Bald Finish (10 mins) |
Stage 5 Results
1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channe 4.33.33
2 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 0.38
3 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home 1.00
4 Nathan O'neill (Aus) Health Net presented by Maxxis 1.06
5 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 1.19
6 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1.25
7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net presented by Maxxis 1.29
8 John Devine (USA) USA National Development Team 1.30
9 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 1.38
10 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel "
Complete Results
GC Standings After Stage 5
1 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro 18.57.03
2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 0.12
3 David Canada Gracia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3.04
4 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3.06
Complete GC Standings
April 20 2:43 PM EST update: A lead group of 8 has a 3:40 gap (and dropping) on the field with 30 km to go. The gap was once 5 minutes but Prodir-Saunier Duval and Jittery Joes are chasing. The 8 man break consists of UCI Continental riders: Ryder Hesjedal (Health Net), Ben Day (Navigators Insurance), Anthony Colby (Colavita/Sutter Home), Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance), Michael Blaudzun (Team CSC), Alexandre Moos (BMC), Danny Pate (Team Slipstream), Christopher Baldwin (Toyota-United).
April 20 update:
Epic climbing is the theme of the day for today's Stage Five. Another five-time Tour host, Dalton will watch the peloton take two neutral laps in downtown at 11:00 AM before setting off through the Chattahoochee National Forest and the now-familiar climbs in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia. Covering 107 miles, the cyclists will climb Fort Mountain (at approx. 11:45 AM), Wolfpen Gap (at approx. 2:30 PM) and Jacks Gap to reach the final and signature climb of the Tour de Georgia, Brasstown Bald Mountain (at approx 3:10 PM). The course materials say, "these final 3.12 miles are very similar to the Tour de France's epic L'Alpe d'Huez climb, are steep and covered with screaming spectators." Brasstown Bald is the Alpe d'Huez of the Tour de Georgia but it is very different. It's much shorter, but steeper. Both climbs always bring out the fans. Brasstown Bald is the highest spot in Georgia, at 4,783 feet.
Can Janez Brajkovic extend his precarious 12 second lead over Christian Vandevelde? Will Tom Danielson win Brasstown Bald for the third straight year? Anyone else wondering how Tyler Hamilton will measure up? Get there early to find a parking spot at the base of the climbs or better yet ride your bike! Enjoy the day. See the links in the stage summary table (right) for today's ride profile, map and timetable.— Steve
Once again, you can follow the action live via the Tour Tracker or with live text updates.
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| Just like the Tour of California (shown here), Levi lit up the TT. photo: Mike Norris |
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| photo: Eric Reagan |
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| Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel) assumes the overall lead today with his 11th place performance. photo: Frank Steele | 95 more photos... |
Stage 4 Results
1 Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) 18.9 mi in 44:51 2 David Zabriskie (Team CSC) 45:32 3 Nathan O'Neill (Health Net) 46:09 4 Thomas Danielson (Discovery Channel) 46:22 5 Dominique Cornu (Predictor-Lotto) 46:32 Complete ResultsGC Classifiication After Stage 4 1 Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel) 14.21.52 2 Christian Vandevelde (Team CSC) 0.12 3 Rubens Bertogliati (Prodir-Saunier Duval) 1.22 Complete GC Standings |
April 19 update: Stage Four will feature the Individual Time Trial, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Chickamauga and take the riders on a 18.9-mile/ 30.4-km route up Lookout Mountain to Rock City Gardens. Riders will depart in reverse order of the General Classification in one-minute intervals; the Top 10 will go last in two-minute intervals. Canada Gracia, leading the G.C., will be the final rider on the ITT course, and is expected to finish close to 2:00 p.m. at Rock City Gardens. See the links in the stage summary table for today's ride profile, map and timetable.
Once again, you can follow the action live via the Tour Tracker or with live text updates.
April 18 16:45 PM EST update: Healthnet's Jeff Louder launched several attacks in the final kilometers off the front of the day's big break, but came up empty when passed by Discovery Channel's Gianni Meersman, the winner, and several other riders in the final meters. Meersman had earlier bridged up and rejoined the lead group on the descent into Chattanooga after the cooperative break splintered on the final climb. Because the break was well represented with strong riders working well together from GC contending teams, the gap between the winning break and the pack was allowed to grow to 23 minutes before the final climb and with just 40 km to go, the gap was still 10 km. The gap ballooned to 29 minutes before the slaughter finally ended.
 (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) |
It won't matter if the pre-race favorites light it up Lookout Mountain in tomorrow's uphill time-trial or Brasstown Bald the next day, their hopes of winning the GC are over. It looks like today's 3rd place finisher and all around solid, Janez Brajkovic, is in the GC driver's seat. For now, the new overall leader is David Canada Gracia. A great day for Discovery Channel, but not from the riders you'd expect.
— Steve
Stage 3 Results:
1 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Discovery Channel
2 David Canada Gracia (Spa) Saunier Duval
3 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel
Complete Results. Read how the race unfolded minute-by-minute.
Full Report
Hopefully, the live internet coverage will build on yesterday's improvement. There was video and audio yesterday, but with a lot of picture and audio breakup. Give it another try: TourTracker link (What is TourTracker?). As usual, there is always the reliable cyclingnews live text updates.
— Steve
April 17 5:05 PM EST update:
Stage 2 Results
1. Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) 135mi in 5:35:27
2. Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) @ 2 secs
3. Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) s.t.
Full Report and Results
29 photos by Frank Steele
Start line photos by Gomez308
 Nothing like winning! photos: Frank Steele |
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The three man main break today (L-R): Glen Chadwick (Navigators Insurance), Garrett Peltonen (Priority Health), Austin King (Jittery Joe's) heading into Rome before being catch. |
That left thousands of visitors to the official site and other sites (like this) receiving "Page Not Found" errors. (Since the profile, map and timetable links on this page access the official site, spectators couldn't access valuable stage information). I got hold of one of the organizers twenty-minutes ago, who was unaware of the problem, and urged him to undo the redirect which is what they have quickly done. Things seem to be back to normal. I've received permission to store the Stage PDFs on my site so the busy and not found errors will not happen again. In all, The Medalist Sports people do an amazing job handling logistics at these big races and this year's Tour de Georgia has been very difficult in many ways. By the way, just now the helicopter relay problems were fixed and the TourTracker (What is TourTracker?) with video and sound is working although there are still picture and audio breakups, but it's not too bad.
4:45 PM EST update: Ben Jacques-Maynes wins the Clocktower Hill KOM and will don the KOM jersey at the end of the day.
4:57 PM EST update: Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) wins... ahead of former teammate JJ Haedo.
— Steve
Hopefully, the live internet coverage will be better today. Yesterdays video and audio feeds got off to a slow start and were very sporadic all race, but better audio and video has been promised. It's probably best to click on the TourTracker link (What is TourTracker?) before 11:00 AM EST to reserve your seat. As usual, there is always the reliable cyclingnews live text updates.
— Steve
April 16 update:
It's about one hour before the 1:00 PM kickoff and the official site is already dishing out a "505 Error" which isn't a good omen. Anyway, here is the TourTracker link which is promising live everything (video, audio, text and gps) all laid on top of today's course map. Better click on the url now and sit on an open connection to avoid disappointment later. As a fallback, here is the link to live text updates only: 12:51 EDT update, The live text update link has changed... try it again. "It's a very blustery day in Georgia. A cold front is moving through the area, and high wind warnings are up all along today's route. The riders should have a tailwind for much of the stage, which could make for an early arrival in Macon." 13:30 EDT update, TourTracker video and audio will not be available for at least another half hour according to the broadcast truck.
— Steve
Stage 1 Results: Tinkoff Credit Systems', Daniele Contrini attacks the three man break and solos in ahead of Doug Ollerenshaw (Healthnet) and Navigator's Ben Day...
Aided by a tailwind all the way to Macon, the Pro Continental teams stole the spotlight on day one. Contrini dropped his breakmates on the hilly Macon circuit and finished over a minute ahead of Ryder Hesjedal, the winner of the field sprint for fourth. CSC's Juan Jose Haedo was the top ProTour rider all the way down in 9th place. Full Report, read more.... Check back for video highlights from today's action.
April 15 update: Final words before the showdown in Georgia from Tyler Hamilton, Tom Danielson, Levi Leipheimer, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Ryder Hesjedal and other participating Tour partners. photo: (c) Lyne Lamoureux
Listen to the press conference
Tom Danielson interview
April 13 update: The organizers have announced details on comphrensive options for viewing live coverage of this year's Tour de Georgia. There will be streaming video and audio as well as GPS tracking and text updates. Also, nightly overview videos of all of the action from each day will be posted online. I'll post the links to content in the stage summary table (see right) as it becomes available. Stay tuned...
Predictor-Lotto Fred Rodriguez Nicholas Gates Christophe Brandt Stefano Zanini Dominique Cornu Olivier Kaisen Geert Steurs Preben Van Hecke Discovery Channel Cycling Team Tom Danielson Levi Leipheimer Gianni Meersman Janez Brajkovic Jose Luis Rubiera Pavel Padrnos George Hincapie Brian Vandborg Team CSC David Zabriskie Matthew Goss Anders Lund Michael Blaudzen Kurt Asle Arvesen Juan Jose Haedo Martin Pedersen Christian Vandevelde Quick Step-Innergetic Leonardo Scarselli Alessandro Proni Ivan Santaromita Hubert Schwab Kevin Seeldraeyers Andrea Tonti Davide Vigano Maarten Wynants Prodir-Saunier Duval Gilberto Simoni David Millar Rubens Bertogliati David Canada Javier Megias Christophe Rinero Guido Trentin Remmert Wielinga | Tinkoff Credit Systems Tyler Hamilton Elia Aggiano Pavel Brutt Salvatore Commesso Daniele Contrini Ruggero Marzoli Alexander Serov Steffen Weigold Health Net Presented by Maxxis Nathan O'Neill Doug Ollerenshaw Ryder Hesjedal Tim Johnson Karl Menzies Jeff Louder Kirk O'Bee Rory Sutherland USA Cycling National Team John Devine Brent Bookwalter Caleb Fairly Chad Beyer Chris Stockburger Sheldon Deeny Zachary Grabowski Nick Reistad Navigators Insurance Cycling Team Phil Zajicek Oleg Grishkin Glen Chadwick Ben Day Valeriy Kobzarenko Sergey Lagutin Ciaran Power Viktor Rapinski Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle Danny Pate Tom Peterson Patrick McCarty Mike Lange Lucas Euser Timmy Duggan Blake Caldwell Jason Donald | Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team Chris Baldwin Durke Swindlehurst Ivan Dominguez Caleb Manion Justin England Ivan Stevic Henk Vogels Chris Wherry BMC Racing Team Scott Moninger Scott Nydam Alexandre Moos David Vitoria Michael Sayers Jackson Stewart Jonathan Garcia Ian McKissick Jittery Joe�s - Zero Gravity Team Cesar Grajales Trent Wilson Neil Shirley Evan Elken Matt Shriver Cody Stevenson Austin King Tommy Nankervis Colavita/Sutter Home Anthony Colby Charles Dionne Davide Frattini Peter Hatton Davide McCann Gustavo Artacho Alejandro Acton Tyler Wren Priority Health Cycling Team Ben Jacques-Maynes Omer Kem Scott Zwizanski Emile Abraham Garrett Peltonen Brian Sheedy Edward King Richard England |
April 6 update: Here's nothing you don't already know if you've been following this page and its links, but it's good publicity from the venerable New York Times: Why Bicyclists Head to Georgia. I'll grant the writer kudos for elegance although the use of seven semi-colons in two sentences seems excessive: Over seven days, the tour moves through a landscape of sandstone ridgelines; gushing, rhododendron-lined creeks; blooming dogwoods; and green mountain vistas. Quirky distractions are inextricably linked to stops along the way: Peachtree City, where cars are banned and residents tool around on 85 miles of golf-cart trails; Dalton, home to more than 100 carpet outlet stores; Rock City, where visitors roam through a network of mountaintop caves adorned with glow-in-the-dark gnomes; Stone Mountain, where a laser light show illuminates the faces of Confederate leaders carved into a massive hunk of granite.
April 5 update: Route timetables to help spectators determine when and where to catch the peloton at a specific point along the route have now been posted. See the new links in the stage summary table.
ATLANTA — Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that AT&T will contribute $500,000 to become a major sponsor of the Tour de Georgia, which will be held the week of April 16-22.
"I am very pleased that our newest corporate citizen is continuing the long legacy of civic participation established by BellSouth and Cingular Wireless," Governor Perdue said. "I have met with representatives from the new AT&T and remain convinced the company will continue to have a tremendous impact on our state's economy for decades to come."
This year's Tour de Georgia marks the fifth year for the race, and the first year the race has been lengthened from six to seven days. The 2007 Tour de Georgia will cover 667 miles, making it the longest in the history of the event, and the longest professional stage race in the U.S. this year. Previous winners include some of the major stars of the sport, including two previous winners that went on to capture the Tour de France title that same year, Lance Armstrong in 2004 and Floyd Landis in 2006.
"It is an honor to make this contribution to the Tour de Georgia, one of the great international cycling events," said AT&T Georgia President Sylvia Anderson. "AT&T is committed to the state of Georgia and our communities. I believe this event will further showcase to the rest of the world our great state, our people and our culture. I want to thank Governor Perdue and the General Assembly for their leadership and commitment to economic development and tourism, which this great event will certainly contribute." AT&T will be a Founding Partner of the Tour.
The event is still looking for another $500,000 from taxpayers or another corporation(s), according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Some may say the $400,000 contributed by the Georgia Economic Development, holder of the Tour license, is already of enough, but it's only a third of what Missouri Tourism is contributing to the Tour of Missouri. Whenever an event has so many spillover benefits then maybe the State should recognize its role as the major contributor when it's also the major benefactor. At least, until the road firms up.
March 28 update:
I failed to post this earlier, but it's been known for awhile that highlights of the Tour de Georgia will be broadcast as part of Versus' Cyclysm Sundays: April 28 @ 5pm ET & April 29 @ 5pm ET. Links to the best live internet coverage, probably text only, will be posted in the event summary table (see right) each day during the event. Find your VERSUS channel number.
| 2007 Tour de Georgia Teams |
15 teams confirmed... Team CSC Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team Prodir-Saunier Duval Quick Step-Innergetic Predictor-Lotto Tinkoff Credit System Health Net presented by Maxxis Team Slipstream presented by Chipotle Navigators Insurance Professional Cycling Team Jittery Joe's Professional Cycling Team Priority Health Cycling Team presented by Bissell Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team BMC Professional Cycling Team Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light Team USA Cycling National Development Team Printable rider start list with race numbers |
In a November 21st press release (see below), the organizers of this event stated that, "since 2003, the Tour de Georgia has attracted 2.3 million spectators and generated over $121 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia." If this event brings in that much money then why isn't the state stepping forward? With a sales tax rate of 7% for most counties, upwards of $8.4 million from this event has gone to the state since 2003.
March 7 update: "We are very confident in our solution and hope to have a 'green light' announcement soon," said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports in Tyrone. "Our apologies for this slight speed bump."
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| Tour de Georgia 2007 Route Map |
Below, you'll find the enhanced press release from this morning's press conference, but here are the highlights. The event is now one day longer (7 days) which will provide more air time for sponsors and showcase two more host cities. The decisive Brasstown Bald stage is back again, but it will be featured on a Friday instead of Saturday so the organizers must feel the reputation of this stage finish will entice enough fans to take a long weekend. The Saturday prime time spot has been awarded to the new Lake Lanier Islands to Stone Mountain stage in an attempt to diversify the race and fan focus and likely brings in more money. Unfortunately, this stage will not have a mountaintop finish since there is no paved road up Stone Mountain. Lookout Mountain is also back as part of the time trial, but the final technical descent is out and the finish will be at the top... a good change. A planned community (Peachtree City) and a mildly successful resort complex (Lake Lanier Islands) are hosting stages having wooed the organizers with more cash leaving some of the pillars of the event, like Dahlonega, feeling "priced out." Still, the price tag host cities are paying is nothing compared to the what the Tour de France host cities pay and it's important to add new cities to keep the route fresh. Dahlonega has no reason to be bitter. Alpharetta, another pillar of past events but a beauty contest loser this year as well, understands they can't partake every year. Moving the last two days of this year's event to
Altanta certainly does make the course easier so it appears compromises have been made for the business and festival aspect of the event. The detailed route won't be determined until the end of January, but it still looks like the stage has been set for another good race. During the race, we'll post links to the best live coverage, results, photos and video and when the official website posts the stage profiles and timetables, we'll link to those as well.
— Steve, November 21st, 2006; revised: November 26th
| Tour de Georgia's Top Notch Promo Video |
Expanding its stature from six to seven days, the Tour de Georgia will begin for the first time in its five-year history on a Monday. A full week of professional cycling and community festivals will embark on April 16 from Peachtree City, Ga, located just south of metro Atlanta, and work its way in a clockwise direction around the state of Georgia and include a return to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Highlights of the 600-mile route include a dramatic individual time trial to the top of Lookout Mountain, a return to the epic mountain-top finish on Brasstown Bald Mountain, a stage finish in Stone Mountain Park and a return to downtown Atlanta and Centennial Olympic Park as the Overall Finish.
"Each of these great communities will be able to put its own unique stamp on the event," said Craig Lesser, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. "Adding an extra day to the Tour de Georgia schedule means more people than ever will have the chance to enjoy the excitement of this international event, and will only enhance the Tour's already strong impact on Georgia's economy."
Of the 12 host venues introduced at the press conference overlooking Centennial Olympic Park from the rooftop of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, three have hosted the Tour for five consecutive years � Dalton, Macon and Rome. Brasstown Bald Mountain will host a stage finish for the fourth consecutive year. Of the eight returning Host Venues, Thomaston and Atlanta have not hosted the Tour since 2004 and 2003, respectively.
The week-long spring tradition will again cover over 600 miles of racing and maintains its stature as a tune-up for the Tour de France on the international cycling calendar. Fifteen professional cycling teams from around the world, each with eight athletes, will be extended special invitations to participate in the 2007 Tour de Georgia. Two UCI ProTour teams have already accepted those invitations, including the Discovery Channel Professional Cycling Team (USA) and Predictor-Lotto (Belgium).
The Tour de Georgia is one of the highest ranked stage races outside of Europe with a 2.HC rating from the Union Cycliste Internationale (international governing body of cycling) and is one of 15 races on the new USA Cycling Professional Tour. The 2006 event included 120 athletes from 24 countries. The final field of world-class teams and athletes is expected to be announced in early 2007.
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"As we enter our fifth year, we are proud to be part of the Tour de Georgia's growth in international prominence and the significance here in the State of Georgia. The success of Tour de Georgia continues to generate positive value for local communities and the state, excitement for the event spectators, as well as provides a prestigious level of competition for these world-class athletes. In partnership with our host communities and corporate sponsors, we challenge ourselves every year to raise the bar, and the 2007 Tour de Georgia promises to be as exciting as ever." said Chris Aronhalt, Managing Partner for Medalist Sports and the Executive Director for the Tour de Georgia.
Since 2003 the Tour de Georgia has attracted 2.3 million spectators and generated over $121 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia. The event has also raised both awareness and revenue for the Georgia Cancer Coalition, the official beneficiary of the Tour. 2007 will mark the fifth consecutive year for this partnership.
"Cyclists have a lot in common with the Georgia Cancer Coalition. We both work with a team of professionals, setting our sights on an uphill battle, facing twists and turns, with confidence that we will succeed in our quest. The support of the Tour de Georgia and of the communities of fans around the state helps the Coalition on our path to improving cancer care in the state of Georgia, and we are very appreciative of those efforts" said Bill Todd, Coalition President and CEO.
Details for each of the seven stages, including maps, mileage, elevation profiles, and recommended viewing locations, are being planned by Medalist Sports. All information will be posted on the official website. The new website was launched in conjunction with the press conference today, and has information available regarding travel plans to Georgia and host venues, taking a bike tour and volunteering for the event.
Related Info:banner image courtesy of tourdegeorgia.com