Tour de Georgia 2008 Live DashboardRoute Map, Stage Details, Teams, TV Schedule, Live Updates, Results, Photos and Video | ||
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| Tour de Georgia 2008 Stage Details | ||||||
| 1 | Monday, April 21st | 72 mi | ||||
| Tybee Island → Savannah | ||||||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 2 | Tuesday, April 22nd | 116 mi | ||||
| Statesboro → Augusta | ||||||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 3 | Wednesday, April 23rd | 110 mi | ||||
| Washington → Gainesville | ||||||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 4 | Thursday, April 24th | 10 mi | ||||
| Road Atlanta/Braselton | TTT | |||||
| profile| map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 5 | Friday, April 25th | 133 mi | ||||
| Suwanee → Dahlonega | ||||||
| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 6 | Saturday, April 26th | 88 mi | ||||
| Blairsville → Brasstown Bald [profile] | ||||||
| profile | map | timetable| live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| 7 | Sunday, April 27th | 63 mi | ||||
| Atlanta | Circuit |
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| profile | map | timetable | live | results | photos | video | ||||||
| Total Distance | 600 mi | |||||
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Astana (LUX)
Team CSC (DEN)
High Road (USA)
Gerolsteiner (GER)
Symmetrics Cycling Team (CAN)
Trek-Marco Polo Cycling Team (CHN)
Slipstream Chipotle (USA)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
Health Net Presented by Maxxis (USA)
Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team (USA)
The Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA)
Rock Racing (USA)
Tour de Georgia canceled for 2010 — cyclingnews
It's official... No Tour de Georgia for 2009
November 14 update:Tour de Georgia off for 2009 — cyclingnewsofficial press release
No Tour de Georgia 2009 ??
September 7 update: Every year this rumor surfaces but this time it seems to be true. No official announcement but..Tour de Georgia unlikely for 2009 (scroll down the page) — cyclingnewsBad news: No more Tour de Georgia? — podiumcafe
April 27 update: Just in from WCSN... Stage Finishes for all stages except the TTT
Stage 7 results: Greg Henderson gets his second win; High Road ends the event on a high note
Atlanta circuit race, 63 mi
April 26 update: High Road's Greg Henderson gets his second win and teammate Kanstantin Sivtsov wins the overall, capping a great week for the American ProTour team seeking a title sponsor. It was a dodgy day of racing with rain at the start on a poor road surface that kept the Mavic neutral support busy all day. As expected, a large break got away much to High Road's approval, but with six mechanicals among the 14 break riders and the usual attrition, it was doomed to fail as most do. According to Toyota-United's Justin England, Cameron Evans of Symmetrics was the easily strongest rider in the break. Evans was also in the 100 mile break leading into Dahlonega on Friday and was a worthy candidate for most aggressive rider on the week, but it's a subjective award and it went to Rory Sutherland of Healthnet.
Evans' Symmetrics teammates also performed well most of the week. Andrew Pinfold was right there in every sprint finish and captured third today to give him third in the points competition; Christian Meir placed second in the young riders' standings behind Slipstream's Trent Lowe with Evans taking third. And Svein Tuft placed third in the King of the Mountains competition won by CSC's Jason McCartney. Symmetrics ended the week as the second best domestic team and 6th in the overall team classification. Domestic Team Type 1 did even better placing third in the team classification ahead of High Road and Slipstream Chipotle. Astana had the best team.
Of course, the biggest revelation of the week goes to Kanstantin Sivtsov, who surprised Astana and Slipstream and before anybody knew what happened, literally waltzed away with both Brasstown Bald honors and the overall title. According to other riders, he's the real deal and we should see him at the top of more results so everyone needs to work on pronouncing his name correctly (
).
Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next month at the Giro d'Italia. — Steve
(photo: Mark Blacknell)
(photo: Mark Blacknell)
Stage 7 results 1 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Team High Road 2 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Team CSC 3 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text Updates — cyclingnews Final general classification 1 Kanstantin Sivtsov (Team High Road) 2 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 0.04 3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.14 Points classification 1 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Team High Road Mountains classification 1 Jason McCartney (USA) Team CSC Young rider classification 1 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle Most aggressive classification 1 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net-Maxxis
Full Report — velonews
Stage 7 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Mark Blacknell | Ken ConleyPost Event Interviews by Velonews
Jonathan Vaughters (
) | Greg Henderson () | Andrew Pinfold () | Fred Rodriguez () | Levi Leipheimer (
) | Tom Danielson () | Cameron Evans () | Trent Lowe ()
Post Event Interviews by BroadBandRacerJonathan Vaughters | Bob Stapleton | Levi Leipheimer
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| As expected, the final GC podium is the same as yesterday (Photo by Ken Conley) |
Stage 7 preview: Atlanta circuit race, 63 mi
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race starts: 1:00 PM local time (); live coverage starts: 1:00 PM local time (); finish: 3:15-3:45 PM local time ()  Full details and more live coverage options
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The live online video coverage was better this year, but it still has a looong way to go; the technical problems at the end of several stages were most untimely. WCSN has a multi-year deal with the Tour de Georgia and they seem pleased with the ratings so lets hope they get some sponsors and invest the money needed to greatly enhance coverage for next year.
Stage 7, the final stage of the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, will conclude tomorrow with a circuit race through the streets of downtown Atlanta. Riders will depart from Centennial Olympic Park at 1:00 p.m. The 10-lap circuit race (62.7 mi/100.9 km) will give sprinters their last three opportunities to win Georgia Power Sprint points. The race is expected to finish in Centennial Olympic Park between 3:15-3:45 p.m. The race will be followed by an awards presentation adjacent to the day's Health & Wellness Expo. — Steve
Stage 6 results: High Road's Kanstantin Sivtsov wins Brasstown and takes the overall lead; Trent Lowe beats Levi but loses his overall lead by four seconds
Blairsville → Brasstown Bald, 88 mi (mountainous)
April 26 update: Team High Road's Kanstantin Sivtsov gets the biggest win of his career after surging past Levi Leipheimer and Trent Lowe in the last 500m up Brasstown Bald. With Sivtsov moving off the front on the decisive stage in this year's race, Leipheimer, not known for his ability to accelerate on a climb, wasn't able to respond or even shed the yellow and young rider leader, Trent Lowe from his back wheel. Lowe then rounded Levi at the line to finish second on the day. Levi had Chris Horner and Jose Luis Rubiera taking turns at the front up Brasstown which whittled the lead group down to 6 or so. Lowe was the only Slipstream rider in the lead group all the way up Brasstown with Slipstream having burned their matches chasing the main break that included Jason McCartney (Team CSC), Andrey Mizurov (Astana), Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's) and Svein Tuft (Symmetrics). Later, Jose Luis Rubiera bridged up to the break, passed them and was first around the corner up to Brasstown followed by Bradley McGee (CSC). Initially, it was reported that Trent Lowe retained the overall lead but Sivtsov's surge at the end was enough to put him in the yellow jersey by four seconds heading into a typically ceremonial final day circuit. Solid efforts were put into today by domestic teams, Team Type 1 and Symmetrics, finishing second and fourth in the team results and are now fourth and six, respectively, in the Team GC Classification.
"Super talented," said McCartney of Sivtsov. "You can tell in the bunch how guys are riding, they're just light on the pedals, and he looked good the past couple days. I think Levi kind of underestimated him." "If you look back to the beginning of the day, there were a few names to consider, Sivtsov, Sevilla... It's hard to predict who's going to be strong. You could see from yesterday this kid's going to be strong and, you know, I think that looking back I was a little bit over-confident," said Leipheimer, who won two stages in the 2007 Tour de Georgia. "And all I can say is Trent (Lowe) rode great, Slipstream rode great and High Road and Sivtsov took advantage of the battle that was going on and everybody rode a really great bike race." — Steve
Stage 6 results 1 Kanstantin Sivtsov (Blr) Team High Road 3.47.16 (37.568 km/h) 2 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 0.10 3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.16 4 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net p/b Maxxis 0.33 5 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Rock Racing 0.38 6 Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Team Type 1 0.54 7 Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC 1.04 8 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Astana 9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 1.38 10 Glen Chadwick (Aus) Team Type 1 2.20 11 Scott Nydam (USA) BMC Racing Team 2.24 General classification after stage six 1 Kanstantin Sivtsov (Blr) Team High Road 20.20.51 2 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 0.04 3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.14 Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text Updates — cyclingnews
Full Report — velonewsSivts-who? A primer on Kanstantin Sivtsov — velonews Stage 6 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Mark Blacknell
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Ken Conley | CanadianCyclist Kanstantin Sivtsov post race interview — thebroadbandracer Levi Leiphiemer post-race interview: Trent and Sivtsov took a big step today — velonews Christian Vande Velde pre-stage 7: the analysis the day after Brasstown — velonews Trent Lowe post-race race interview: Sivtsov is a strong boy — velonews Rory Sutherland post race — thebroadbandracer Roadside spectator: The Wall on Brasstown — Silvestri1965 Roadside spectator: Trent and Levi sit back as Sivtov steals the show — chmago31 Leader's Interview before today: Trent Lowe — velonews |
| Today's surprise winner will no longer by underestimated (Photo by Ken Conley) |
Kanstantin Sivtsov (Team High Road) celebrates the biggest win of his career (photo: Mark Blacknell)
Henderson, Lowe, Sivtsov, McCartney, Shirley (photo: Mark Blacknell)
Kanstantin Sivtsov at the post-race news conference. Sivts-who? A primer on Kanstantin Sivtsov (photo: Mark Blacknell)
Stage 6 preview: Blairsville → Brasstown Bald, 88 mi (mountainous)
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| live coverage starts: 12:00 PM local time (); finish: 2:15-3:15 PM local time () Full details and more live coverage options
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Full Preview: The Brasstown Breakdown — podiumcafe Replay of last year's Brasstown Bald Finish (10 minutes) Leader's Interview: Trent Lowe — velonewsStage 5 Post-Race Interviews by Velonews
Levi Leipheimer () | Danny Pate () | Johan Bruyneel () — velonews
General classification heading into and up to Brasstown Bald 1 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 16.33.29 2 David Zabriskie (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.04 (looking good) 5 Chris Horner (USA) Astana 6 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Astana 7 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 0.06 8 Kanstantin Sivtsov (Blr) Team High Road 9 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.13 10 Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC 11 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC 12 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 0.17 13 Thomas Danielson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 (lost 17 secs yesterday) 14 Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Astana 0.21 15 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 0.28 16 Jason McCartney (USA) Team CSC 0.30 17 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC 18 Scott Nydam (USA) BMC Racing Team 0.31 19 Richard England (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling 0.42 20 Edward King (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 21 Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Team Type 1 0.49 22 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.50 23 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 24 Christian Meier (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team 25 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Rock Racing 0.53 (hurt by a bad TTT)
Stage 5 results: Bissell's Richard England wins the hilly, twisty finish in Dahlonega
Suwanee → Dahlonega, 133 mi (hilly)
April 25 update: Criterium specialist and Aussie, Richard England, was first around the final corner and to the cheers of big crowds in Dahlonega powered his way up the final hill to claim a huge victory his U.S. domestic sqaud, Bissell Pro Cycling.
With only one moto camera in operation today, the domestic teams literally stole the limelight. Four riders: Cameron Evans (Symmetrics), Edward King (Bissell), Tim Johnson (Health Net p/b Maxxis) and Valery Kobzarenko (Team Type 1) formed the main break that lasted for almost 100 miles before being caught on the last (steep) KOM just before the twisty descent and power climb to the finish. So Bissell not only had a man in the main break, they now lead the KOM competition and won the race. They cleaned up today! ()
With a completely splintered field, Trent Lowe (AUS) of Slipstream Chipotle now slips into the yellow jersey. Somehow teammate and a pre-race GC favorite, Tom Danielson, lost 17 seconds today. — Steve
high-res victory salute and here
Stage 5 results 1 Richard England (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling 2 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net p/b Maxxis 3 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road 4 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team 5 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Rock Racing 6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 7 Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Team Type 1 8 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text — cyclingnews
Full Report — velonews Richard England interview immediately after the race — thebroadbandracerRock Racing To Donate $250,000 to Two Cancer Research Charities During TdG — news release Winner's interview, Richard England: "You have to repay your teammate for spending 150k off the front" — velonews Cameron Evans interview post race — thebroadbandracer Dave Towle/ Jeff Roake at the Finish Line: "It's pandemonium in Dahlonega" — jitteryjoescycling Stage 5 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Ken Conley | CanadianCyclist |
| Photo by Ken Conley |
Stage 5 preview and live updates
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| live coverage starts: 12:30 PM local time (); finish: 2:50-4:15 PM local time () Full details and more live coverage options
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Stage 5 Pre-Race Interviews by Velonews
Christian Vande Valde: "this stage will be harder than tomorrows"
Tim Johnson
Jason McCartney
Henk Vogels
Stage 4 results: Slipstream wins the TTT; no shake up in GC as expected
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| U.S. TT champ, David Zabriskie, and his Slipstream at Road Atlanta (Photo by Ken Conley) |
Stage 4 results 1 Slipstream Chipotle (49.2 km/h) 19.38.86 2 Astana 19.40.79 3 Team High Road 19.42.06 4 Team CSC 19.49.58 5 BMC 20.08.51 6 Gerolsteiner 20.09.53 7 Health Net p/b Maxxis 20.17.72 8 Bissell 20.18.06 9 Toyota United 20.20.29 10 Rock Racing 20.29.21 11 Symmetrics 20.29.67 12 Team Type 1 20.32.42 13 Jelly Belly 20.47.12 14 Jittery Joe's 20.57.57 15 GE Macro Polo Trek 20.59.41 Live Text Update — cyclingnews |
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Full Report — velonews
Stage 4 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Ken Conley | Frank Steele | Steve Miller | CanadianCyclist
Roadside spectator: Rock Racing curving a turn — jakester80
Roadside spectator: Team High Road climbing — jakester80
Roadside spectator: Team Astana weaving along track — chmago31
Stage 4 Post-Race Interviews by Velonews
Tom Danielson: "It's such a privilege to be on a team like this"
Bobby Julich: "This course was alot of fun but really tricky... this could turn out to be something big... hopefully a part of the Tour de Georgia for years to come"
Bob Stapleton: "we are not winning big races, but we are winning alot ... morale is very high"
Stage 4 Pre-Race Interviews by Velonews
Rider reactions to no TT bikes: "level playing field"... "no fancy gear" ... "bad for tt sponsors"
Greg Henderson: stage 3 winner's interview
Rory Sutherland: did Sea Otter then flew to the Tour de Georgia
George Hincapie pre-stage 4: "The organizers made a good decision [re: no TT bike] ... hats off to a good venue"
George Hincapie pre-stage 3
Chris Horner pre-stage 3
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| JJ Haedo pulls out as he struggles up the 14% grade and lands on his top tube (Photo by Ken Conley) |
Stage 4 preview and live updates
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Jittery Joe's recons the TTT course at Road Atlanta |
Instead of talking about sprinters, mustaches, crashes, lack of cash, rocks, dznuts, jersey confusion and passionate podium girls, we'll turn our focus to a fabulous team time trial [definition] (TTT) stage that will setup the battle for the Yellow Jersey. The way I see it, this time-trial, unlike others, will level the playing field since the latest, fancy TT bikes from companies like Trek, Cervelo et al will not be a factor. In a bold move, the organizers aren't allowing TT bikes at the race track venue tomorrow because the Road Atlanta circuit is deemed too technical and hilly for the bikes "twitchiness" and in today's battered cycling economy, the travel cost for all the extra bikes and equipment was also a factor.
In a TTT, you're only as good as the rest of your team so the best individual time-trialers like Levi Leiphiemer, Dave Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde will be at a disadvantage even though they still have good teams. In addition, the time-trial is only 10 miles in length (4 laps), so it's unlikely the time gaps will be too significant, but there will be time gaps going into the decisive Friday and Saturday stages. Slipstream, Astana and CSC will be the favorites, but there will be surprises. — Steve
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| start: 1:00 PM local time (); finish: 4:00 PM local time () Full details and more live coverage options |
Stage Four features the Tour's first Team Time Trial (TTT) at Road Atlanta/Braselton, Ga. It will begin at 1:00 p.m. and is expected to finish at 4:00 p.m. This is the first time that Road Atlanta has hosted a Tour stage as well. The Tour de Georgia has held an individual time trial for four consecutive years, beginning in 2004. This year's closed course will be staged on a hilly 2.5-mile, 12-turn race track that typically used for motorsports events such as the Petit Le Mans. In the TTT, each team will start all of their riders together. The finish time of the team will be taken off the front wheel of the fourth rider across the line at the finish. Any riders finishing behind the fifth rider on that team will be awarded their actual time across the line. Teams will start at equal intervals in reverse order of the team G.C. rankings after Stage Three; Team High Road leads the team G.C. so they will start last on Thursday.
Also, see
TT bikes not allowed for the TTT at Road Atlanta
Slipstream's Duggan hospitalized after crash at Tour de Georgia — stltoday
Video Update: Unfortunately, due to a geographic rights clause in the WCSN-Tour de Georgia contract, wcsn will not be able to supply this site with video clips. Of course, you can still go to the wcsn site and watch each stage on-demand. It's disappointing because wcsn offered clips to me before they realized there might be a problem. The Tour de Georgia is probably the biggest stage race I know of that doesn't figure out an arrangement for the posting daily race highlights or last km clips. In the meantime, if anyone knows of decent amateur or local media coverage of stage 3 and beyond then send me an email. — Steve
Stage 3 results: Yesterday's runner up, Greg Henderson, wins today's sprint finish
Washington → Gainesville, 108 mi (rolling)
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| high-res victory salute |
"Right at the finish, I had Kansta Sivtsov (High Road) and George Hincapie (High Road) looking after me pretty well. I don't think we left the top five for the last three laps," said Henderson, the 2003 Tour de Georgia Overall Sprint Champion. "Then coming up 500 meters to go, George just nailed it and Greipel (High Road) actually dived down inside me on the last corner. I was like 'that looks good, three High Road.' And it was just a drag race between Greipel and I to the line. And, yeah I was lucky enough to get it." Third place Tyler Farrar commented on the finish, "It was pretty hectic on the circuits. Very technical and the hills were a lot harder than we expected, I think harder than most teams expected," — Steve
Stage 3 Results 1 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Team High Road 2 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text — cyclingnews
Full Report — velonews Redux: Greg Henderson interview after Stage 1 — velonews Stage 3 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Ken Conley The Sprint Finish — wcsn Roadside spectator: Racing through Gainesville at 40 mph — xtrtownies Cody Stevenson talks about the stage 2 crash and shows off his road rash — jitteryjoescycling
Stage 3 Pre-Race Interviews by Velonews
Cameron Evans: a top 10 in GC or stage win for Symmetrics would be good
Dave Zabriskie: talks about his new dznuts chamois cream product
Tyler Farrar: talks about the stage 2 sprint finish
Stage 3 preview and live updates
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| "Z" looks a little like Colonel Sanders don't you think? (photos from Ken Conley and wikipedia) | |
April 23 update: Stage Three will depart Wednesday from Washington, in Wilkes County, GA, a first-time host venue for the Tour. The stage will begin at 11:00 a.m. and is expected to finish between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. in Gainesville/Hall County, GA. This will mark the third time the Tour has been held in Hall County, with Gainesville hosting a stage finish in 2003 and a stage start in 2005. Riders will leave the tree-lined streets and restored antebellum homes of Washington for a 109.7 mile (176.5 km) journey through undulating terrain before a circuit finish on the streets of downtown Gainesville. Riders will have three opportunities to earn sprint points at Georgia Power Sprints in Comer (Madison County), Ila (Madison County) and Homer (Banks County).
start: 11:00 AM local time ();
approximate finish: 3:00-4:00 PM local time ()
Your options for live text and video coverage starts: 12:00 AM local time ()
Video Update: Great news!! From here on in, the folks at wcsn.com have promised to provide this site (steephill.tv) with video clips. I've suggested 3 minutes of daily race highlights within several hours of each finish and the higher the quality, the better! Meanwhile, The Augusta Chronicle has a nice recap from yesterday's stage 2 () and do check out the fine rider interviews () pre and post stage 2 by Velonews' Neil Rogers and Brian Patrick. — Steve
Stage 2 results: JJ Haedo (CSC) comes around yesterday's winner to claim the sprint finish in Augusta
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| J.J. Haedo passes a fading Dominguez (left) and just barely holds off Henderson. (Photo by Ken Conley) |
"I decided in the last 5 K (kilometers) that I would know if I wanted to be in the sprint. I just wanted to be safe, so I managed to stay in the front and I found Ivan's (Dominguez) wheel; so I think it was the perfect lead out," said Haedo, winner of the Sprint Jersey at the 2007 Tour de Georgia. Said three place finisher, Greg Henderson, "We have a great team and I had George Hincapie looking after me in the final sprint and he got me in the right position with about a kilometer to go. I jumped on the back of CSC and I went for the line, but unfortunately as I shifted to my 11 sprocket, my big gear, I couldn't drop down in time, so I missed a big opportunity there." — Steve
Yesterday's post-race interview with J.J. Haedo () where he talks to the media about his recent broken wrist for the first time.
Stage 2 Results 1 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Team CSC 4.32.35 (41.403 km/h) 2 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Team High Road 3 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota - United Pro Cycling 4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 5 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team 6 Robert Foerster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 7 Emile Abraham (Tri) Team Type 1 8 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Rock Racing 9 Ivan Stevic (Srb) Toyota - United Pro Cycling 10 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text — cyclingnews
Full Report — velonews Stage 2 Race Highlights— augusta chronicle Stage 2 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Ken Conley
 The TdG has the most passionate podium girls (Photo by Ken Conley) |  |
Stage 2 Post-Race Interviews by Velonews
Dominique Rollin: [Ivan] was setup perfectly, unfortunately he got beat by a stronger sprinter today Ivan Dominguez: They (Haedo and Henderson) were going 5 kph faster than me Frank Pipp: It was my plan to go for the KOM today... I jumped early. How was it out there Levi? Ahh... kinda long... a lot of pavement... a lot of grass on the sides of the road Justin England: Discusses not getting the most aggressive rider award Jim Birrell: It was a day we had to award it (most aggressive rider) to our friends at Marco Polo
Stage 2 Pre-Race Interviews by Velonews
Christan Vande Velde () | Tylar Farrar () | Mike Sayers () | Freddie Rodriquez ()
Stage 2 preview and live updates
April 22 update: Stage Two will depart Tuesday from Statesboro at 11:00 a.m. and is expected to finish between 3:15 and 4:25 p.m. in Augusta, home of The Masters Tournament -- one of four major championships in men's professional golf. This 115.7 mile (186.2 km) course will head north along southeastern corner of the state and include Georgia Power Sprint lines in Millen/Jenkins County and Sardis/Burke County, GA and the first official climb of the week, a United Community Bank King of the Mountain (KOM) competition in North Augusta. The race will take cyclists into South Carolina, a Tour de Georgia first, before culminating with a hilly circuit finish in downtown Augusta. The Health & Wellness Expo will be open 1:30 - 5:30 p.m. in downtown between Broad and Reynolds streets.
start: 11:00 AM local time ();
approximate finish: 3:15-4:25 PM local time ()
live video coverage starts: 12:30 AM local time ();
Current Situation/ Live Text Updates — cyclingnews
Yesterday Follow-Up Velonews did a great job conducting lots of stage 1 rider interviews pre and post-race. I posted links to them last night ... Those that have followed the Adobe TourTracker through its iterations were surprised to see it absent of video just when the reliability and quality of the feed had been perfected at the last Tour of California. It seems wcsn.com (not including justin.tv) was the only source for video yesterday for viewers in North America. (The bills have to be paid you know) ... Lets hope the problem with the finish line camera or its transmission has been corrected for today. Everyone watching via the internet was exasperated when the last 200m of the sprint finish was not broadcast due to some technical problem. What a cruel joke. Supposedly, there will be short daily highlights of each stage, but nothing has appeared. Amateur footage is the best we have so far of the stage 1 sprint finish. — Steve
Watch the Tour de Georgia Live Video via the internet; TV Coverage and Race Radio Frequencies
April 21 update: There are several options to follow the Tour de Georgia via the internet depending on your country. The TourTracker via the official site offers GPS tracking and course overlays, but was missing video yesterday. For straight up video you need to go to wcsn.com (USA/Canada only) and cycling.tv (Outside North America). For TV coverage, Versus will have a highlights programme on May 4th (see below) and each night during the event, southeast regional sports network, SportSouth will televise "seven 30-minute highlight shows recapping each day's events, including wall-to-wall highlights, race reactions and interviews with select cyclists." Cycling video production company, Kent Gordis Productions, will once again provide the video feed. There will be two motorcycle cameras, but unfortunately helicopter footage wasn't in the budget. Also, for those with a wideband scanner radio check out the list of race radio frequencies sent in by a viewer. — Steve
USA and Canada only: Watch Free, Live Online / Complete ScheduleAlso, WCSN TV for daily highlights Outside North America, viewers can watch via Cycling.tv |
April 21 10:30am - 2:00pm ET
April 22 12:30pm - 4:30pm ET
April 23 12:00pm - 4:00pm ET
April 24 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET
April 25 12:30pm - 4:30pm ET
April 26 11:30pm - 3:30pm ET
April 27 1:00pm - 4:00pm ET
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Current Situation/ Live Text Updates — cyclingnews
Live coverage fan comments — podiumcafe
 Versus will broadcast 1.5 hours of highlights on May 4th at 2 PM EST. Find the Versus channel in your area
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 SportSouth is a regional sports network in the United States reaching about 8.9 million cable and satellite subscribers in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and parts of North Carolina. |
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Race Radio Frequencies for the 2008 Tour de Georgia |
Stage 1 results: Ivan Dominguez wins the sprint finish in Savannah
Tybee Island → Savannah, 72 mi (flat)
 Photo by Ken Conley |
April 21 update: "50 meters to go, I look [back] through my arms and the guys were the same distance behind and I was like, 'I guess no one is going to pass', but you still have to go all the way to the finish," said Dominguez (who finished second three times at the 2004 Tour de Georgia and wore the Yellow Jersey for one day that year)
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Stage 1 Results 1 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota - United Pro 2 Nicholas Sanderson (Aus) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 3 Robert Foerster (Ger) Gerolsteiner Full Results — cyclingnews Live Text — cyclingnews Full Report — velonewsAnalyzing the results — tdgblogDanielson: protected leader, or opportunist? — velonews Stage 1 Photo Recaps: Cyclingnews | Ken Conley | sports.yahoo The Sprint Finish — wcsn Roadside spectator: The break and the peloton — richmilliewillis Roadside spectator: The sprint finish at the 100m marker — CoachRadek Roadside spectator: The sprint finish at the line — savannahnow Roadside spectator: Leader's Jersey Presentation — savannahnow
Stage 1 Post-Race Interviews
Stage 1 Pre-Race Interviews |
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Stage 1 preview
April 21 update: There should be a sprint finish in Savannah today if the winds along the coast stay calm as expected unlike Saturday. The flat ride from Savannah's vacation hotspot, Tybee Island, back to the city (with an added loop west of the city) will be very flat other than the ride over the causeway. The peloton will pass through the finish area at mile 22 before starting the outbound portion of the course. Lots of options for live video coverage today. Check back after the race for links to results, reports, photos and video. As new content becomes available, the links will get activated in the stage details table (see right) where the links for host cities, profiles, maps and timetables of all seven stages are ready for your clicks. — Stevestart: 10:30 AM local time (); approximate finish: 1:00 PM local time ()
current situation/text update — cyclingnews
Watch Free, Live Video Online — wcsn.com
Tour de Georgia 2008
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Race Preview
April 18 update: Now that the Rider Startlist (printable with race numbers) has been released by the organizers, we can analyze the race in detail. Last year's overall winner Janez Brajkovic is not listed which is a surprise since he talked favorably about returning to defend his title. Apparently, he has overtrained and is not fit to attend. Hmmm.With no individual time-trial, the short but interesting team time-trial at Road Atlanta will keep the climbers in the fold before the race is decided on Brasstown Bald next Saturday. Two-time Tour de Georgia winner, Slipstream's Tom Danielson, should be one of the favorites, but he's been sick or injuried numerous times recently and hasn't competed much. He's a big question mark, but as a pure climber, this year's event should suit him more than ever. The lack of an indivdual time-trial hurts Levi Leipheimer's chances, but he won Brasstown Bald last year and has never been the overall winner in Georgia.
We'll see the finest riders from the United States and Canada in action and despite the absence of a few European teams, the action on the road should be more lively than ever. The full Rock Racing and Symmetrics teams weren't at the Tour of California in February so they'll be ready to impress. Rock Racing's Santiago Botero convincingly won the Redlands Classic two weeks ago and the quality, but cash-strapped, Symmetrics team from Canada will be "cycling for its life" as cyclingnews put it. Expect Symmetrics to be very aggressive as they go for stage wins. Rock Racing's Oscar Sevilla looked good winning a recent uphill time-trial despite losing 30-seconds due to a mechanical. Expect he or Botero to make the final podium in Georgia. This is a good time of the year in Georgia -- a beautiful State with many smooth, quiet, rural cycling roads. — Steve
Also see,
Tour de Georgia on our mind — cyclingnews
Leipheimer, Danielson and Sevilla are the big GC threats — velonews
'08 rosters posted: Rock Racing trio all in, Brajkovic out — tdgblog
Stage-by-Stage details— tourdegeorgia
"A New Beginning" for Rock Racing — podiumcafe
Why Sevilla, Botero and Hamilton are eligible for Georgia but not California? — steephill.tv
Redux: Tyler Hamilton talks about Sevilla and Botero after California — velonews
Injury-ravaged Saunier Duval-Scott pulls out, opening a spot for Rock Racing
April 15 update: "Ironically, Saunier Duval-Scott's announcement came on the same day that Rock Racing and Tour de Georgia organizer Medalist Sports were in Georgia Superior court, with Rock Racing seeking an injunction against the race over a reported alleged verbal agreement the team had with Medalist over its entry." — cyclingnews
Read more: Saunier Duval won't be in Georgia, Rock will — velonews
ProTour team pulls out of Tour de Georgia, replaced with Rock Racing — cyclingnews
Rock Racing Will Rock The 2008 Tour de Georgia — rockracing
Tour de Georgia Profiles and Timetables now posted
April 14 update: Stage profiles and timetables useful for determining when and where spectators should catch the action are now available online. See the Stage Details Table to the right. Also, checkout the special driving and parking instructions for Stage 6 (Brassstown Bald). And for the first time: Tour de Georgia in Google Earth
(the free Googe Earth software is required) and for those with a wideband scanner radio here is the list of race radio frequencies sent in by a viewer. — Steve
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A rock and a hard place
March 24 update: It seems the unwanted focus of 2008 event team selections has fallen on those that have missed out. For Tour de Georgia, Rock Racing is the odd man out. "I like all the riders he has on his [Michael Ball's] team -- it's just that renegade approach and his desire to steal the limelight away from the platform that has been created for everybody else is what troubles me," Jim Birrell told VeloNews in California. "Right now, for Georgia, Colorado and Missouri, I just don't know if there is a fit for that team at those stage races. We still haven't finalized those rosters, but I don't know if they are under consideration or not." Asked whether Ball's conduct at the Tour of California might have played a role in the Georgia decision, Birrell replied, "Their performance at the Amgen Tour of California did not resonate well, but since then they have taken steps in the right direction to get rid of what caused those issues."
The quick exit of Mario Cippolini, various sponsors and elements of management gives more than a rocky appearance to a team that wants to add new life to cycling. Establish a stable team and get results with a little less flare seems to be the message from Medalist Sports and riders like David Millar (). Nonetheless, according to a Rock Racing press release, "We were under the impression that we were racing and we took Medalist at their word," Ball said. "They said they were going to field 16 teams if we were willing to pay our own way. In order to race, Medalist did want us to pay for all of our expenses and housing. We were willing to do that so we could race." Fast Freddie has always performed well at TdG and he'll be missed. Now the pressure is on Team Type 1 to prove they were not simply a symbolic selection. — Steve
April 7 update: Making the grade: Deciding Tour de Georgia invites — cyclingnews
April 11 update: Rock Racing sues to get into Tour de Georgia — velonews
April 15 update: ProTour team pulls out of Tour de Georgia, replaced with Rock Racing — cyclingnews
TT bikes not allowed for the TTT at Road Atlanta
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Jittery Joe's recons the TTT course at Road Atlanta |
Teams from Canada and China added to this year's event; the remaining teams announced for a total of 15 teams
March 19 update: Last week, Mark Cunningham informed me the Symmetrics Cycling Team were officially invited to this year's event after a two year absence. That's great news for the Canadian domestic squad that had lots of success in North and South America last year. Also, added to the list is the first pro cycling team from China to compete in North America.Update: The remaining teams announced to the list today (March 20th) are ProTour team Saunier Duval-Scott and U.S. teams Jelly Belly, Toyota-United, and Team Type 1. Notably absent from this list is Rock Racing. Click here for the full list of teams.
"This is not only the most international field we have had at Georgia, but one of the most elite as well. Usually you only see names like Hincapie, Zabriskie, Leipheimer and Millar at the Grand Tours. Now you will see them at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T. We have many teams from across the U.S. and Europe that we just could not accommodate," said Jim Birrell, managing partner of Medalist Sports and race director for the Tour de Georgia. Read more from the press release. — Steve
GE Sponsoring China-Based Pro Cycling Team for 2008 Tour de Georgia — centredaily
Detailed 2008 Tour de Georgia stage maps are now up
ATLANTA, Ga. (March 6, 2008) – Details about the 600 miles of racing for the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T were unveiled today by event organizers. The sixth season
for this prestigious professional cycling event will include a record 13 Georgia Power Sprint lines and eight United Community Bank King of the Mountain climbs during the seven days of racing,
April 21 to 27.
On Monday, April 21, the Tour will begin for the first time on Tybee Island, Ga., located on the coast. The event will move north along the eastern side of the state, entering South Carolina
for the first time as part of the Stage 2 finish in Augusta, Ga. A 10-mile Team Time Trial at Road Atlanta is also a first and is expected to attract a record crowd for Stage 4. There will be a
new route for one the signature mountain stages in the Blue Ridge Mountains before the event finishes with a new circuit course in downtown Atlanta on Sunday, April 27.
“The route this year will continue to challenge the best cyclists in the world over varied terrain, and it will provide thousands of race fans a chance to see many new beautiful parts of Georgia. The Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T has firmly established itself on the international racing calendar as one of the premier tune-up stage races for the Grand Tours of Europe, like the Tour de France. It has also substantiated itself as a showcase event for Georgia tourism and our world-class southern hospitality,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports and Event Director for the Tour de Georgia. Medalist Sports is responsible for all route planning and race logistics.
The Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T remains 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 was the first race in North America to receive this top rating. It is one of 15 races on the 2008 USA Cycling Professional Tour. The event has grown from a five-stage race in 2003 to a seven-stage weeklong contest with 600 miles of racing. Last year the Tour challenged 15 of the top U.S. and ProTour professional teams with its longest route, covering 667 miles.
Stage One (view map ) eatures the first of five new host venues, Tybee Island. The Overall Start of the seven-day race makes its inaugural seaside visit on Monday, April 21. The stage will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Tybee Island, covering 71.8 miles (115.6 km) through the coastal Lowcounry of Chatham County. There will be three Georgia Power Sprint lines on the route (locations tbd). The pro peloton of 120 professional cyclists, representing 15 teams, is expected to cross the finish line in Savannah between 1:05-1:45 p.m. It has been five years since the Tour de Georgia has been contested in Savannah, America's first planned city, when it hosted the Prologue of the 2003 Tour.
Stage Two (view map ) will depart Tuesday from first-time host Statesboro, Ga., located 50 miles north of Savannah. This 115.7 mile (186.2 km) route will include two Georgia Power Sprints (one will be in Millen) and the first official climb of the week, a United Community Bank King of the Mountain (KOM) competition in North Augusta. A circuit finish in downtown Augusta will take cyclists into South Carolina for the first time. It is the fourth time the Tour has been hosted by Augusta. A second day of generally flat terrain, this stage will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Statesboro and is expected to finish in downtown Augusta between 3:15-4:30 p.m.
Stage Three (view map ) makes its inaugural start in historic Washington, Ga. on Wednesday, April 23. Situated about 35 miles north of Augusta, Washington, considered one of the most picturesque small towns in Georgia, will fire the start gun at 11:00 a.m. for a 109.7 mile (176.5 km) stage across rolling terrain to Gainesville. Along the way, riders will face one UCB KOM climb (tbd) and three Georgia Power Sprints (Tignal, Comer, Homer). This will mark the third time the Tour has been held in Hall County, with Gainesville hosting a stage finish in 2003 and a stage start in 2005. A downtown finish will include circuits and is expected to finish between 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Two firsts for the Tour will take place on Thursday, April 24 – venue and event. Stage Four (view course layout ) features a 10-mile (16.1 km) Team Time Trial at Road Atlanta. Renowned for its hilly 2.5-mile, 12-turn race track used for motorsports events like Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta will host a Tour stage for the first time. The Tour de Georgia has hosted an individual time trial for four consecutive years, but this is the inaugural Team Time Trial. In this exciting race against the clock, each team must field all eight riders at one time. Teams will begin in heats; two teams on the track at once. The event begins at 1:00 p.m. and is expected to finish at 4:00 p.m.
The longest stage of the Tour will take place on Friday, April 25, passing through 10 Georgia counties. Stage Five (view map ) is 133.4 miles in length (214.7 km) and challenges riders with three UCB KOMs (Burnt Mtn, Woody Gap, Crown Mtn). The epic day of climbing begins in Suwanee, Ga., the first time the Tour has started in Gwinnett County. A new route will wind north, with a Georgia Power Sprint in Cumming, to the finish line in Dahlonega, GA. It is the third time that Dahlonega, home to America’s first gold strike, has hosted the Tour (2004-2006). The race begins in Suwanee at 10:00 a.m. and is expected to finish between 2:50-4:10 p.m. in Dahlonega.
Stage Six (view map ) features the signature climb of the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, the stage finish at the highest spot in Georgia (4,783 feet), Brasstown Bald Mountain. What makes the climb so difficult is the 88.4 miles (142.3 km) of racing through the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, including UCB KOM climbs across Hogpen Gap and Unicoi Gap; points for a third KOM climb will be awarded on the top of Brasstown Bald. Blairsville, the seat of Union County and home to United Community Bank, will host the stage start for a third time (2005 and 2006) beginning at 11:00 a.m. The National Forest Service, which operates the visitor center at Brasstown Bald Mountain in Union County, expects over 25,000 spectators to watch the final 3.12 miles of the race on this final climb, and to see the stage finish as early as 2:15 p.m., or close to 3:00 p.m., depending upon the weather and speed of the peloton.
The Tour de Georgia returns to Atlanta, Ga. for a third time for Stage Seven (view map ) on Sunday, April 27. There will be a new circuit race on the streets of the Capitol city, beginning and ending at Centennial Olympic Park. The peloton of professional cyclists will pass Woodruff Park, Bedford Place Park, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The grand finale of the Tour will be 62.7 miles (100.9 km) in length. Three Georgia Power Sprints will be held during intermediate laps at the start/finish line. From all along the circuit, spectators will see 10 full laps, each lap is 6.3 miles (11.9 km). Festivities and family entertainment will be scheduled all day at the Health and Wellness Expo in Centennial Olympic Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. The overall awards ceremony will take place in the Park after the race finish, expected to be approximately 3:15-3:40 p.m.
View individual stage maps: stage summary table
Additional resources such as timetables, elevation profiles and recommended viewing locations will be added to the website in the coming weeks.
Eight of the fifteen sloted teams are officially announced
Feburary 15 update: The Tour de Georgia teams that have accepted their invitations:Read the press release
Last year's "Founding Sponsor" AT&T returns as the "Presenting Sponsor" of this year's Tour de Georgia
January 23 update:From today's press release, "AT&T is pleased to continue its involvement with the Tour de Georgia this year," said Sylvia E. Anderson, president of AT&T Georgia. "The Tour brings Georgia families together and attracts fans and participants from across the nation and around the world to enjoy the world class cycling event in the context of Georgia's natural beauty. The Tour brings substantial tourism and economic development dollars to our state. On behalf of AT&T, I offer my congratulations to the Tour and to Lt. Governor Casey Cagle for his leadership in making Tour de Georgia not only an economic success for Georgia, but an important philanthropic contribution, as well, by associating this event with the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta."
Last year, AT&T signed as one of the Tour's Founding Partner sponsors, which included naming rights to the Overall Leader jersey awarded after each stage. As the Presenting Sponsor in 2008, AT&T will maintain ownership of the AT&T Leader jersey and will receive prominent branding at all venues for race week, in all pre-event promotions and in all sections of the website.
Five New Venues and Team Time Trial Bring
Fresh Look to the Sixth Tour de Georgia
December 5 update: Other than the anticipated host cities announcement and the inclusion of a team time-trial for the first time, not much was released today. The time-trial will take place on a 2.5 mile race track circuit — a great idea from the spectators' standpoint. The fan favorite Brasstown Bald stage has been moved back to its Saturday time slot (from Friday last year) which means the big crowds should return again. Having Brasstown on Saturday also means the race will be decided one day later in the week. Stage maps need the approval of the counties/ highway control so the actual route and distances will be announced at a later date. Also, the event is still looking for a title sponsor even though the State of Georgia is now running the show. In fact, there are very few secondary sponsors listed on the official site. Event sponsors and teams will be announced in January. — Steve, December 5th 2007
The Press Release
ATLANTA, Ga. (December 5, 2007) — From the salty marshes and ocean shoreline of the Georgia coast to the majestic skyline of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 12 Georgia communities have been selected as the official Host Venues for the sixth annual Tour de Georgia, scheduled April 21-27, 2008. The introduction of these Host Venues was announced today by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle at a press conference at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. Cagle also recognized the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's as the new beneficiary for the Tour next year.
"Today is an exciting day. As we entered into this sixth season of the Tour de Georgia, we promised to revitalize the event and we are well on our way. With the selection of our 12 Host Venues, including two mountain stages and the addition of the Team Time Trial, we are taking the steps necessary to continue strengthening the Tour de Georgia- ensuring it remains North America's premier cycling race. This April, we will welcome the world to Georgia," said Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. "The addition of the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children's Healthcare as a beneficiary is a very important move for the Tour. This event is not just a bike race. The heart of this race will be about giving back."
Five new communities will host the Tour for the first time - Road Atlanta/Braselton, Statesboro, Suwanee/Gwinnett Co., Tybee Island, and Washington. Savannah hosted the overall start of the inaugural Tour de Georgia in 2003. Other returning Host Venues include Atlanta (2003, 2007), Augusta (2005, 2006), Blairsville (2004-2006), Brasstown Bald Mountain/Towns Co. (2004-2007), Dahlonega (2004-2006), and Gainesville (2003, 2005).
Brasstown Bald Mountain, property of the National Forest Service that is the highest peak in Georgia (4,784 feet), has become the signature "Queen Stage" of the Tour, showcasing the mountain region of the state. Road Atlanta, a multi-purpose motor sports facility situated on 750 park-like acres in Northeast Georgia, will host the first Team Time Trial of the Tour de Georgia. The individual time trial discipline has been part of the Tour since 2004. The exciting and highly anticipated Team Time Trial will replace the ITT this year in Georgia. It is incorporated into stage racing occasionally, and was last part of the Tour de France in 2005. This "race of truth" for teams was reintroduced on American soil in 2007 at the International Tour de 'Toona, and had not been staged since the 1986 World Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Tour de Georgia will return for a second consecutive campaign as a seven-day professional race and maintains its position on the international cycling calendar as a major tune-up for July's Tour de France. The Tour de Georgia continues to be the longest weeklong stage race in North America with over 650 miles of scenic byways and highways across the state. It is also 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 the top races on the USA Cycling Professional Tour.
"The Tour de Georgia is a race I love because of the amazing fans and how well it fits in with my racing schedule. Being the best young rider in 2006 was great, but winning the whole race in 2007 was the highlight of my racing career. I am always asking my directors to do more races in the U.S. and I plan to be back again in April," said 2007 Tour de Georgia champion Janez Brajkovic, racing in 2008 for the Astana Pro Cycling Team.
The 2007 Tour included 120 athletes from 23 countries. Fifteen professional cycling teams from around the world, each with eight athletes, will be extended special invitations to participate in the event by Medalist Sports. By January 2008, an announcement is expected to describe the details of the projected 650-mile route and the top teams accepting invitations.
"The continued success of Tour de Georgia generates positive value for local communities and the state and unparalleled enthusiasm for hundreds of thousands of spectators who travel to these communities for this springtime sports tradition. We are proud that the Tour de Georgia offers a prestigious level of competition for world-class athletes, and an opportunity for many of our U.S. based to perform on home soil," Elizabeth Dewberry, the executive director for the 2008 Tour de Georgia.
Since 2003 the Tour de Georgia has attracted 2.8 million spectators and generated over $148 million in economic impact for the state of Georgia. The event aligned with the Georgia Cancer Coalition in its first six years, to raise both awareness and revenue across the state. In 2008 the official local beneficiary will be with the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's.
New venues, TTT highlight '08 Tour de Georgia — Velonews
Tour de Georgia is reorganized under new leadership; looks to a long, peachy future as a staple of U.S. cycling
| Tour de Georgia Promo Video |
"The Tour de Georgia is an internationally known sporting event. It is the largest cycling race in the U.S. occurring just before the Tour de France. The Tour represents an excellent opportunity to bring the world to our state - and that is what we intend to do. Through aggressive marketing and strategic partnerships, we will add this event to the ranks of historic Georgia sporting events like The Masters and the Peachtree Road Race," said Cagle, who was elected as Lt. Governor in 2006. "The cities we will select this year will exemplify all the special qualities and Southern hospitality that make Georgia the greatest state in America. The race and activities focused around it in every community will encourage others to visit our state again and again - having a strong impact on our state's tourism development and overall economy."
The Tour de Georgia has enjoyed great success since its inception in 2003, attracting 2.8 million spectators to communities across the state and generating $148 million in economic impact in those five years. Last year the Tour expanded from six to seven days, allowing more communities to take part in the festivities. The week-long event will maintain its traditional "Tour de France tune-up" slot on the UCI international cycling calendar as a 2. HC (Hors Categorie) professional event during the third week of April. The event has gained international acclaim for the strong field of cyclists who compete each spring, including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong who competed in Georgia twice, and winning the overall title in 2004.
"The Tour de Georgia has established itself as one of the premier events for professional cyclists and for cycling fans in North America", stated Levi Leipheimer, current National Road Race Champion (USA Cycling Professional Championships) and 3rd Overall in the 2007 Tour de France. "Personally, I enjoy participating in the Tour de Georgia as it is perfectly placed in the world cycling calendar in terms of preparation for the Tour de France. The challenging courses, enthusiastic crowds and southern hospitality are the best of any North American race."
The Tour de Georgia, owned by GPED, a 501c6 organization developed by the state's sales and marketing division, Georgia Department of Economic Development. In 2006 the Tour faced financial challenges that were resolved only weeks before the race commenced. Recognizing that this event was indeed a strong driver for economic impact and tourism, the office of the Lt. Governor is taking initiative to support the Tour de Georgia as a valued sports property for the state. The reorganization will focus on increasing multi-year business partnerships with the event and creating year-round publicity.
The challenging route for the sixth annual Tour de Georgia is expected to again cover over 650 miles of scenic roadways and communities across Georgia. Lt. Governor Cagle, in partnership with Medalist Sports, will announce the official route and Host Venues on November 14.
Related Info:
Official website
Host Cities Overview
Completed coverage of Tour de Georgia 2007: results, photos and videos