In case you were wondering, the Tour de Georgia will not roll out in 2010.
In spite of an effort to bring back the bike race next year, the cash-strapped Tour de Georgia Foundation was unable to find the sponsors to pay for the race for the second year in a row.
Tour de Georgia board member Tom Saddlemire told CyclingNews:
"The Board of Directors and our advisors did all we could to tailor a race to fit within the economic realities of today and we are understandably disappointed in this announcement, but we are committed to bringing back the Tour as soon as possible." ..... more»
Sad news from Georgia this morning. Citing tough economic conditions and a need to plan for the future, organizers of the 2009 Tour de Georgia bicycle race say they'll cancel the race in 2009 but return in 2010.
In an announcement posted on the Tour de Georgia website, race chairman Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle says:
"We have ... decided to skip one year so that the Tour de Georgia can once and for all be ahead of the game in the planning process. This is a decision I feel is wise and one that will strengthen the Tour de Georgia for years to come."
Board member Phil Jacobs told the Savannah Morning News, "The rise in the cost of gas and the current "tough" economic picture hurt us."
Meanwhile, a "Lance Armstrong bump" from his possible participation in the race vanished when he announced he would be competing in the European spring classics that are scheduled at about the same time as the Tour de Georgia's slot ... more»
Maybe it's too soon to turn out the lights on the Tour de Georgia, but CyclingNews reports the 6-year-old bike race is "unlikely" to be around next season.
That's going to make a lot of people sad, especially the estimated 400,000 who flocked to the roadside to witness at last one of the seven stages of bicycle racing across Georgia in April.
There are more details at the CyclingNews report, but here's the gist of the story .... more»
The Tour de Georgia that ended last month added an estimated $38.6 million to the state's economy -- a 40% increase over last year.
That's a healthy bump, but why the big jump? It is surprising, especially considering that spectatorship was down to about 400,000 this year, a 20% drop from the previous year's 515,000.
Methodology of data gathering might have something to do with it. So does inflation, the price of gasoline, and an increase in the number of foreign visitors lured by the weak dollar. ... more»
The 2008 Tour de Georgia bike race certainly didn't follow any script.
It was full of surprises. Among them:
1. Fifty-one US cyclists rode in the 120-man peloton.
--Not one US cyclist won a stage. Not one US cyclist wore the yellow jersey. (Jason McCartney of CSC did win KOM.)
Interestingly, when Slipstream-Chipotle -- a team with 8 US cyclists -- won the Stage 4 Team Time Trial, it was Australian Trent Lowe who crossed the finish line first. That's how he ended up in the yellow jersey after the next stage.
2. The peloton hosted two former Tour de Georgia champions and many veteran contenders, including the winners of February's Tour of California and last fall's Tour of Missouri.
-- It was 25-year-old Kanstantin Sivtsov, right, from Belarus who made the decisive move on Brasstown Bald on Saturday. He passed 23-year-old Trent Lowe and 10-year cycling pro Levi Leipheimer to capture the stage and eventually the Tour.
3. Team High Road dominated the Tour, with three stage wins and four yellow jerseys.
-- If you had told me that before the race, I would have expected South Carolina's George Hincapie to be wearing the yellow jersey ... more»
I committed a real "Dewey Defeats Truman" blunder at Biking Bis on Saturday when I named Trent Lowe at the overall leader of the Tour de Georgia following the Brasstown Bald stage.
It was Kanstantin Sivtsov (Belarus) of Team High Road who actually captured the overall lead after powering ahead of Trent Lowe and Levi Leipheimer in the final yards on the mountain.
I had listened to and watched the video stream of the end of the final stage, rushed to file a story on the results, then logged off for the day as I undertook to catch up on my one-person parenting duties while my wife is out of town. Big mistake.... more»
In spite of what appears to be an Australian invasion controlling the Tour de Georgia after Friday's stage, the US favorites have climbed in the standings for a battle on Brasstown Bald on Saturday.
Aussie Richard England, right, riding for the Bissell cycling team, challenged and beat countryman Rory Sutherland (HealthNet) in a sprint to the Stage 5 finish line in Dahlonega on Friday.
Meanwhile, Slipstream's Trent Lowe, also from Australia, donned the yellow jersey although he's in a tie with two teammates. Lowe finished first in Slipstream's winning team time trial on Thursday, so he gets the honor of wearing the yellow ... more»
The Slipstream-Chipotle team used its horsepower to win the Team Time Trial at Road Atlanta on Thursday, Stage 4 of the 2008 Tour de Georgia.
Greg Henderson held onto the yellow jersey, however, in spite of his Team High Road's 3rd place finish, less than 4 seconds behind. Astana finished in 2nd place, about 2 seconds behind. Team CSC finished 4th.
The win by Slipstream helps to set up former Tour de Georgia winner Tom Danielson in a good position ... more»
Fifteen teams will be racing against the clock at the Road Atlanta speedway for Stage 4 of the 2008 Tour de Georgia, the event's first-ever team time trial.
The course is located in Braselton, northeast of Atlanta, and the event is scheduled to run from 1 to about 4 p.m. (ET). As usual, WCSN.com is offering its video stream of ... more»
In just one race stage, the 2008 Tour de Georgia is all about Greg Henderson of the High Road team.
The 31-year-old sprint and track specialist from New Zealand won the broken field sprint in Gainesville on Wednesday afternoon to take Stage 3. With yellow jersey holder Ivan Dominguez finishing far back, Henderson also took the over race lead.
And with intermediate and finish line sprint points building up for the past three stages, Henderson also took the lead in the points classification... more»
You could probably guess that if Argentine sprinter J.J. Haedo was signed up for the Tour de Georgia, he wouldn't be quiet for long.
We heard from the Team CSC speedster at the close of Stage 2 on Tuesday, when he missed a crash on the final turn in Augusta and passed an isolated Ivan Dominguez to capture his sixth win of the season.
Monday's winner Dominguez (Toyota-United) hung on to finish in third place, after Team High Road's Greg Henderson, and retain the yellow jersey for another day as overall race leader ... more»
Cuban cyclist Ivan Dominguez won Stage 1 of the Tour de Georgia in a bunch sprint on Monday.
While Rock Racing, High Road and Gerolsteiner battled for position at the front of the peloton, the "Cuban Missile" slipped past their sprinters and rocketed across the finish line.
Jelly Belly's Nicholas Sanderson and Gerolsteiner's Robert Forster finished second and third on the 70-mile stage from Tybee Island to Savannah... more»
It appears that the scheduled 10:30 a.m. (ET) start time for Stage 1 of the 2008 Tour de Georgia is slightly exaggerated. Based on Adobe Tour Tracker, the race started at 10:50 a.m.
There appears to be several opportunities to follow the action from the Tour de Georgia from your home or office when the bike race rolls out this coming Monday through Sunday.
Live video streaming to your computer is being offered for free through World Championship Sports Network WCSN.com. Go to the broadcast schedule page at WCSN and follow the link to "Watch Now" (you might have to register). Also check the "Live Video" page at Tour de Georgia.
Also, it looks like the Adobe Tour Tracker will be back to offer live GPS streaming of riders in the peloton, as well as a course profile, play-by-play from VeloNews and a chatroom ... more»
This is an interesting line-up for the sixth annual Tour de Georgia, which gets underway Monday on Tybee Island.
We have international stars, home-grown favorites, accused dopers, and two former winners, although last year's champion Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia) is not on the roster for Astana.
I'm sure all that talent will be more alert in the early stages this year. If you remember, all the favorites were out of contention by the end of Stage 3 when a breakaway of 13 young riders attacked and beat the peloton by nearly 30 minutes ... more»
Savannah plans to roll with the crowd when the 2008 Tour de Georgia bike race starts in nearby Tybee Island on Monday.
The historic old city is the site of bicycling events that aim to get Savannah residents out on two wheels this weekend.
Two bike rides -- the Savannah Wheelie on Saturday and the Ride for Research on Sunday -- are suited for recreational riders. The Saturday ride is free, and the next 100 to register for the Sunday ride also will get to ride free... more»
(Updated: Rock Racing is in the 2008 Tour de Georgia.)
Saunier Duval-Scott's loss is Rock Racing's gain.
A series of early-season injuries has prompted Spain's Saunier Duval-Scott pro cycling team to opt out of the 2008 Tour de Georgia that rolls from Monday through April 21.
The decision meant Tour de Georgia organizer Medalist Sport reconsidered Rock Racing for that final spot, even as the two were in Georgia Superior Court where the Continental cycling team has filed an injunction to get into the race ... more»
The upcoming Tour de Georgia (April 21 - 27) will host a pro cycling team from China, marking the first time a Chinese cycling team has competed in the US.
Although it's the first licensed Chinese pro cycling team, the GE Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek has cyclists from 5 countries.
Fifteen teams are racing in the 600-mile Tour. The entire list:
Astana Cycling Team (Luxembourg) Saunier Duval-Scott (Spain) Team CSC (Denmark) Team High Road (USA) Team Gerolsteiner (Germany) BMC Racing Team (USA) Slipstream/Chipotle presented by H30 (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling (USA) Health Net presented by Maxxis (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA) Jittery Joe’s Professional Cycling Team (USA) Symmetrics Cycling Team (Canada) Team Type 1 (USA) Toyota-United Professional Cycling Team (USA) GE/Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek (China) ... more»
Hold the phone! A couple of months after T-Mobile hangs up on cycling, AT&T increases its presence in the sport.
The giant communications company has signed on as the presenting sponsor for the 6th annual Tour de Georgia, which runs from April 21-27. That's peachy because the race didn't have a major sponsor last year and was in danger of being cancelled.
What's ironic is that another communications industry player, T-Mobile, ended its sponsorship of a pro cycling team at the end of the season because of bad publicity involving team members and doping... more»
Organizers revealed the general bike race route for the 2008 Tour de Georgia on Wednesday morning, and it features some new real estate as well as some old favorites.
Five new towns will be among the 12 host cities to participate as the Tour enters its sixth year. The race features a return to ever-popular Brasstown Bald (at 4,784 feet the highest peak in Georgia) on the next to last stage.
The race, which runs from April 21-27, 2008, begins on Tybee Island on the Georgia coast. Other host cities are Savannah, Statesboro, Augusta, Washington, Gainesville, Braselton, Suwanee, Dahlonega, Blairsville, Brasstown Bald and Atlanta... more»
Tour de Georgia cycling fan Thomas Kinnebrew has died from the injuries he suffered in a crash on Brasstown Bald.
The 53-year-old man from Helena, Arkansas, lost control of his bike as he rode down the mountain road after the April 20 stage and crashed into a rock embankment, according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Tour de Georgia ended last weekend with a circuit race around Atlanta, but the action will be televised this Saturday and Sunday on the Versus sports network.
Formerly OLN (and still named that in Canada), the Versus cable network will broadcast Stages 1-4 on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. (ET) and Stages 5-7 on Sunday from 5-6 p.m. (ET). (Following the Tour de Georgia, Versus televises La Fleche Wallonne from 6-7 p.m. on Sunday.)
That means the interesting finish in Rome and the long breakaway will be shown on Saturday's telecast, and Brasstown Bald and the Atlanta finish are on Sunday.
On the West Coast, the broadcast is scheduled while many cyclists are out on the road enjoying their own bike rides, so I'd expect viewership to be low out here.
Visitors to the Brasstown Bald stage of the Tour de Georgia on Friday might have witnessed rescuers reviving a man who crashed his bike on the way down the mountain.
The man, Thomas Kinnebrew of Helena, Arkansas, crashed into a rock embankment after he lost control on his bike after the race. Rescuers at the scene kept him alive with .... more»
Six cyclists from the Pacific Northwest competed at the 2007 Tour de Georgia. Here's how they did in the final standings:
Omer Kem of Salem, Oregon (Priority Health); 106th overall more»
The Tour de Georgia has posted the highlights of several stages of this year's bike race at YouTube. Here's a 10-second clip of fans chasing Levi Leipheimer up Brasstown Bald.
As of Sunday night, the finishes for Stage 5 (Brasstown Bald), Stage 6 and Stage 7 were also posted. These clips run about 6 to 10 minutes each. ... more»
Janez Brajkovic, left, held off the challengers to win the 2007 Tour de Georgia on Sunday, becoming the first non-US cyclist to win the 5-year-old bike race.
Meanwhile, Argentinian sprinter J J Haedo repeated last year's feat by winning the last stage of the Tour, which ended in Atlanta with a 77-mile criterium race.
The overall win by the 23-year-old Discovery Channel cyclist from Slovenia is just one indicator of the growing international flavor of this stage tour, which has been dominated by Americans in previous years. Other winners were Chris Horner (2003), Lance Armstrong (2004), Tom Danielson (2005), and Floyd Landis (2006). ... more»
Fast Freddie Rodriguez jumped out of a sprinting mass of cyclists at Stone Mountain on Saturday to win Stage 6 of the Tour de Georgia, just ahead of JJ Haedo and George Hincapie.
This is the first stage win for the popular US cyclist on Predictor-Lotto since taking Stage 4 of the 2006 Tour de Georgia. He suffered a very bad fall during last year's Tour de France which kept him out of contention for awhile.
In the overall battle for the yellow jersey, Discovery Channel's Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia has maintained his 12 second lead over US cyclist Christian Vandevelde of Team CSC. ... more»
Discovery Channel cyclist Levi Leipheimer beat the peloton to the top of Brasstown Bald (on right side of course profile) on Friday, winning his second mountain-top Tour de Georgia stage in as many days.
Teammate Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia retained the leader's yellow jersey after he and closest challenger Christian Vandevelde (Team CSC) of the US matched each other up the climb up the highest point in Georgia. Vandevelde trails Brajkovic by 12 seconds in the overall standings.
Crowds swarmed over the summit of Brasstown Bald, as Tom Danielson (Discovery) and Anthony Colby (Colavita/Sutter Home) finished behind Leipheimer. Last year's Tour de Georiga and Tour de France winner Floyd Landis was on hand at the summit to meet and greet. ... more»
The Discovery Channel pro cycling team took the stage and overall lead at the Tour de Georgia on Thursday, perhaps setting up a battle later on with Team CSC.
Levi Leipheimer won the 18.9-mile Stage 4 individual time trial from Chickamauga to Lookout Mountain in 44:51.
Although he finished more than 2 minutes later, teammate Janez Brajkovic's 47:28 was good enough to take the yellow jersey from the shoulders of David Canada from Saunier Duval-Prodir.. ... more»
The Tour de Georgia keeps on delivering surprises. A youth movement attack of 13 cyclists tore apart the peloton with a nearly 30-minute plus breakaway that essentially ended the General Classification aspirations for all the favorites.
Discovery Channel's Gianni Meersman, left, of Belgium -- the youngest cyclist in the race -- won the 118-mile Stage 3 between Rome and Chattanooga. Second-place finisher David Canada Gracia (Spain) of Saunier Duval took over the overall race lead.
While it seems that the favorites -- Tyler Hamilton, Levi Leipheimer, Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriskie, Fred Rodriguez, and the list goes on -- have been unable to make an impact on the race in the first two stages, their absence in Stage 3 is confounding. ... more»
Tour de Georgia's Tour Tracker is streaming live video as I write this, but no audio yet for Stage 3. Looks like that breakaway of about a dozen is working a double paceline to put some minutes between itself and the peloton.
It's been a rough start for Tour Tracker the first couple of days, as I know they never got the video and audio up Tuesday, and maybe not Monday either. I suppose a few bugs are inevitable whenever you're dealing with melding new technologies. (Crap just lost the video on a Category 4 climb.) .... more»
One of the most refreshing things about this year's Tour de Georgia is how the Continental pro cycling teams are getting all the attention and appear to be driving this race.
I know, we've only seen two stages, but the big ProTour cycling teams like Discovery Channel, Team CSC, Predictor-Lotto, QuickStep and Prodir-Saunier have been pretty quiet so far.
All the action has come from cyclists on the smaller budget teams that don't usually make it over to Europe to compete in the high-prestige bicycle races. This is great recognition for those dedicated guys who train day-after-day for the chance to one day make the big time. ... more»
The peloton must have learned its lesson from the day before at the Tour de Georgia, and closed the gap to a three-man breakaway before arriving in Rome for the Stage 2 finish.
The cyclists from Jittery Joes, Navigators Insurance and Priority Health gained as much as 9 minutes on the main group during the 135-mile stage between Thomaston and Rome before they were reeled in.
The stage ended with three circuits around Rome, and Toyota-United's Ivan Stevic attacked on the last lap with enough staying power to propel him to victory. Juan Jose Haedo (Team CSC) and Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) finished in second and third, respectively. ... more»
There are a total of six pro cyclists at the 2007 Tour de Georgia this year with roots in the Pacific Northwest.
I wrote about Portland's Doug Ollerenshaw and North Bend's Tom Peterson on Monday. When a reader emailed that there was at least one more, I thought I'd better check the rosters as closely as I could and came up with four more cyclists:
Washington residents Ian McKissick of Mulkiteo and Jonathan Patrick McCarty of North Bend, Omer Kem of Salem, Oregon, and Phil Zajicek, whose hometown is Eugene, Oregon. ... more»
Two cyclists from the Pacific Northwest -- Doug Ollerenshaw, left, of Portland and Tom Peterson, right, of North Bend, Washington -- are among the 115-some racers at this week's Tour de Georgia.
Ollerenshaw, a member of the Health Net pro cycling team, gained the distinction of jumping on the right breakaway and finishing in 2nd place, 29 seconds behind the winner, Daniele Contrini.
Peterson, a member of the much talked about Team Slipstream, is currently ranked in 3rd place in the competition for Best Young Rider at the Tour de Georgia. He won that distinction at the 2006 Tour of California. ... more»
You can't blame some of these cyclists from the continental teams for attacking early and getting a little glory in Stage 1 of the Tour de Georgia before the big boys from Discovery Channel, Team CSC, Prodir-Saunier, QuickStep and Predictor-Lotto took over.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Macon; riders from Navigators, Health Net, Tinkoff and BMC put together a little five-man breakaway that gained an 8-minute gap on the peloton at one point and propelled three of its members to win, place and show.
Italian cyclist Daniele Contrini from the new Tinkoff Credit Systems team won the stage, followed by Portland resident Doug Ollerenshaw for Health Net and Australian Ben Day for Navigators Insurance. ... more»
A new Toyota-United cycling team blog covers some behind the scenes action for the continental pro cycling team and news and pictures from some of its races.
Recent posts include pictures from the Tour de Georgia training ride, and a quip from teammember Ivan Dominguez at this weekend's press conference. ... more»
The Tour de Georgia, for the first time ever, will offer live video streaming of the bike race that begins Monday and runs through April 22.
That's good news for anyone who wants to see more of the race than the minute-by-minute updates from VeloNews and CyclingNews or wait a week or more to see the action broadcast on Versus.
The Georgia bike race will use the same Tour Tracker interface that brought rave reviews during this year's Amgen Tour of California. Viewers can get live streaming video, live streaming audio, live GPS tracking of the peloton and race leaders on a map, text updates from CyclingNews, and heart rate and speed/cadence measurements downloaded from a few chosen riders. ... more»
Will another American win the 2007 Tour de Georgia bicycle race, set to start on Monday?
The US cyclist with perhaps the most to prove in the peloton is TylerHamilton, competing for the first time on US soil since undergoing a two-year ban for blood doping. The 36-year-old cyclist, busted during the Vuelta a Espana bike race in 2004, is leading the newly created Italy-based Tinkoff team.
Then there's Tom Danielson, who is leading the Discovery Channel team and looking to repeat his winning Tour de Georgia performance of 2005. Joining him is teammate LeviLeipheimer, who would probably like to prove that winning the Amgen Tour of California in February was no fluke. Discovery is also bringing George Hincapie, who broke his wrist in that California tour. ... more»
Still scratching around for money, Tour de Georgia organizers announced Wednesday that AT&T has come forward with $500,000.
Tour de Georgia backers said a couple of weeks ago that "the race must go on" in spite of a $1 million shortfall and lack of a title sponsor. The Georgia state legislature then got into the action; first House approved $1 million infusion in the 2007 state budget, then the state Senate removed it... more»
Tyler Hamilton, left, officially returns to pro cycling in the US next month as his Italy-based Tinkoff team is among the 15 that will compete in the week-long Tour de Georgia.
Discovery Channel's George Hincapie also is expected to have recovered from his broken wrist and be back in the saddle in time for the 667-mile Tour, scheduled for April 16-22.
The Tour de Georgia team list, as reported in the Rome (GA) Tribune, includes five ProTour teams (CSC, Discovery, Prodir-Saunier, QuickStep, and Predictor-Lotto), as well as four UCI Professional Continental teams and five UCI Continental (USA) teams. ... more»
This won't be the year that the lights go out on the Tour de Georgia, although the seven-day bicycle race is still short of cash and without a marquee corporate sponsor.
Organizers of the April 16-22 bike race, entering its fifth year, announced Wednesday that the 667-mile race will go ahead as planned and will depend on funding from several smaller entities to help make ends meet.
As the Georgia Ford Dealers Association dropped out as the title sponsor after last year's race, race chairman Craig Lesser said last month that the race was $800,000 short and may be cancelled or scaled down if the money weren't raised ... more»
Mark your calendars. The Tour of Georgia bike race returns next spring, offering seven days of bicycle racing from April 16-22, 2007.
The bike race kicks off on a Monday in Peachtree City, located just down the road from Atlanta. After heading south to Macon, the 600-mile race continues its clockwise route toward the mountains in North Georgia, before finishing with a circuit race on Sunday in Atlanta.
Major American and European teams are expected to compete, as the race has a 2.HC rating .... more»
Who's the great American hope in this year's Tour de France? You gotta believe that Floyd Landis is a top contender.
The Pennsylvania native and Southern California resident won the 6-day Ford Tour de Georgia on Sunday by finishing in the pack with a scant four-second lead over last year's winner, American Tom Danielson of the Discovery pro cycling team. ... more»
Tom Danielson, 4 seconds down in the General Classification, won Stage 5 atop Brasstown Bald on Saturday but didn't gain on Tour leader Floyd Landis because the Phonak cyclist finished on Danielson's back wheel.
With just Sunday's bike ride left in the 600-mile, 6-day race across Georgia, it looks like Landis is poised to win his third major bicycle race of the season. ... more»
US cyclist Jason McCartney tried to turn back the clock to duplicate his Dahlonega stage win in 2004 on Friday, but it was US sprinter Freddy Rodriguez who was the more successful time traveler to win the stage.
US cyclist Floyd Landis held onto the overall lead in the Ford Tour de Georgia, thanks his Swiss Phonak team cutting into McCartney's lead over Woody Gap, the final climb of the day. ... more»
More than half (51%) of the voters in the "Who will win the Tour de Georgia" poll picked current leader Floyd Landis to win the bike race, which ends Sunday.
I've been checking the results every night, and Landis was leading in the polling before he ever motored down the ramp for the individual time trial Thursday and took the lead. David Zabriskie of Team CSC was second, with 31%. ... more»
There goes that Floyd Landis again, winning another individual time trial on Thursday and jumping to the overall lead in the Ford Tour of Georgia bike race.
The Phonak team leader who lives in Southern California beat the field for the second year in a row, although his margin was less than in 2005. With a harrowing climb on Brasstown Bald coming up Saturday, it's up to Landis and his team to hold off last year's overall winner Tom Danielson of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team. ... more»
Last year's best young rider in the Tour de France is this year's leading bike racer at the Tour de Georgia ... for now.
Discovery Channel's Yaroslav Popovych won the 116-mile stage Wednesday that ended with four climbs over the Clocktower Hill in Rome. The win by the 26-year-old Ukrainian put him in first place overall. more»
"Lance gave us a great platform to spearhead American cycling. You have guys like George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer and Tom Danielson. There are a lot of different aspects of riding ... Lance was a combination of those. We'll replace him with great athletes, but what Lance did might never be done again." ... more»
You're never too old to win. Thirty-seven-year-old bicycle racer Lars Michaelson knows this. The cyclist on Denmark's Team CSC pulled out a sprint win on Day One of the Ford Tour de Georgia bike race.
Following closely behind Michaelson across the finish line in Macon was US sprinter "Fast" Freddy Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto), Australian Caleb Manion of US team Jelly Belly, and Argentine speedster Juan Jose Haedo, the Toyota-United Pro rider who won two Tour of California stages.
Thirty-seven years old. A year ago Lance Armstrong was 33 when he announced before the start of last year's Tour de Georgia that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2005 Tour de France. ... more»
The fourth annual Tour de Georgia starts in Augusta today, and the first annual Tour de Georgia poll appears on my blog.
Who do you think will win the 2006 Tour de Georgia? I've listed some of the leading contenders. If you don't like any of them, you can leave a comment here with your choice. more»
Win at Brasstown Bald, and you have a better than even chance of winning the Tour de Georgia. Just ask Tom Danielson, the Discovery cycling team rider who won the mountain stage and took home the title last year.
Pro cyclists will toil up Brasstown Bald, left, on Saturday this year. For us mere mortals, several North Georgia groups sponsor the annual Brasstown Bald Buster Century featuring 12,000 feet of elevation gain over 100 miles. The ride starts early on May 6 in Helen, Georgia. ... more»
The pro peloton invades Georgia next Tuesday through Sunday for the 600-mile, 6-stage Ford Tour de Georgia bike race. Unless you live in the Peach State, your chances of catching live coverage are nil.
Most of us will have to follow the action through live race updates posted at VeloNews, which really isn't bad because we can sneak looks on our office computer during work.
US cycling fans should be pleased to hear that the world's top ProTour cyclist -- Floyd Landis of the Swiss Phonak team -- is competing in the Tour of Georgia bicycle race that begins in a couple of weeks.
Other big name US bike racers include last year's winner, Tom Danielson of Discovery Channel, and David Zabriskie, a member of Danish Team CSC and holder of the yellow jersey for four days in the 2005 Tour de France. ... more»
Next month's Ford Tour of Georgia bicycle race will feature six ProTour cycling teams in what organizers are touting as the only 2. Hors Classe race in North America.
Signed to compete are Team CSC (Denmark), Phonak (Switzerland), Davitamon-Lotto (Belgium), Prodir-Saunier Duval (Spain), Discovery Channel (USA), and Quick.Step (Belgium).
Although team rosters are not due until April, TdG organizers say they have commitments from 2005 winner Tom Danielson (Discovery), and 2006 Tour of California and Paris-Nice winner Floyd Landis (Phonak). ... more»
Here's an opportunity for weekend warrior cyclists to ride the last few miles of the Tour of Georgia course just hours before the pros do it.
Recreational cyclists who participate in a cancer fund-raiser can ride the final 25 miles of the Cumming to Alpharetta route as part of the BriarRose Grand Peloton. It's scheduled for the last day ... more»
"It's important for Tom to understand that he's not just another lieutenant in (Armstrong's) army. Tom represents the future for Lance's new plan: pass the wisdom down to the prodigy. There's really no better place for (Danielson) to be. Those guys were expendable, but he's the next generation."
Rick Crawford, coach to Tour de Georgia winner Tom Danielson, referring to ... more»
In a bicycle race that American Lance Armstrong was expected to dominate, it was three other US riders who took the podium in the Tour de Georgia.
After Sunday's 125-mile stage, the Tour de Georgia podium was populated by three Americans, Tom Danielson (Discovery) who finished first overall, Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) second, and Floyd Landis (Phonak) third.
In case you were wondering, the Tour de Georgia will not roll out in 2010.
2. The peloton hosted two former Tour de Georgia champions and many veteran contenders, including the winners of February's Tour of California and last fall's Tour of Missouri.
In spite of what appears to be an Australian invasion controlling the Tour de Georgia after Friday's stage, the US favorites have climbed in the standings for a battle on Brasstown Bald on Saturday.
The Slipstream-Chipotle team used its horsepower to win the Team Time Trial at Road Atlanta on Thursday, Stage 4 of the 
In just one race stage, the 2008 Tour de Georgia is all about Greg Henderson of the High Road team.
You could probably guess that if Argentine sprinter J.J. Haedo was signed up for the Tour de Georgia, he wouldn't be quiet for long.
Cuban cyclist Ivan Dominguez won Stage 1 of the Tour de Georgia in a bunch sprint on Monday.
Savannah plans to roll with the crowd when the 
(Updated: Rock Racing is in the 2008 Tour de Georgia.)
Fast Freddie Rodriguez jumped out of a sprinting mass of cyclists at Stone Mountain on Saturday to win Stage 6 of the Tour de Georgia, just ahead of JJ Haedo and George Hincapie.
Discovery Channel cyclist Levi Leipheimer beat the peloton to the top of Brasstown Bald (on right side of course profile) on Friday, winning his second mountain-top Tour de Georgia stage in as many days.
The Tour de Georgia keeps on delivering surprises. A youth movement attack of 13 cyclists tore apart the peloton with a nearly 30-minute plus breakaway that essentially ended the General Classification aspirations for all the favorites.
Tour de Georgia's 
Two cyclists from the Pacific Northwest -- Doug Ollerenshaw, left, of Portland and Tom Peterson, right, of North Bend, Washington -- are among the 115-some racers at this week's Tour de Georgia.
Tyler Hamilton, left, officially returns to pro cycling in the US next month as his Italy-based Tinkoff team is among the 15 that will compete in the week-long Tour de Georgia.
This won't be the year that the lights go out on the 
More than half (51%) of the voters in the "Who will win the Tour de Georgia" poll picked current leader Floyd Landis to win the bike race, which ends Sunday.
There goes that Floyd Landis again, winning another individual time trial on Thursday and jumping to the overall lead in the Ford Tour of Georgia bike race.
You're never too old to win. Thirty-seven-year-old bicycle racer Lars Michaelson knows this. The cyclist on Denmark's Team CSC pulled out a sprint win on Day One of the Ford Tour de Georgia bike race. 
Win at Brasstown Bald, and you have a better than even chance of winning the Tour de Georgia. Just ask Tom Danielson, the Discovery cycling team rider who won the mountain stage and took home the title last year.
The pro peloton invades Georgia next Tuesday through Sunday for the 600-mile, 6-stage Ford Tour de Georgia bike race. Unless you live in the Peach State, your chances of catching live coverage are nil.
In a bicycle race that American Lance Armstrong was expected to dominate, it was three other US riders who took the podium in the Tour de Georgia.
