Tour de Georgia coming to Road Atlanta
BY KRISTI REED
Road Atlanta is making Tour de Georgia history this year by hosting the first ever team trial event. The ten mile race on Road Atlanta’s hilly 2.5 mile, 12 - turn course will be the fourth stage of this year’s tour, event organizers announced Wednesday.
The team trial will consists of twenty minute heats with two teams riding in each heat. Each team must race with all eight team members. The time of the fifth place finisher from each team will be counted as the team’s time.
The team trial will be run counterclockwise along the Road Atlanta course. That means riders will begin the heat with the steep climb at turn 12 to present a more challenging course for the event.
Former cyclist and team director Jeff Corbett with Sports Group 11 said he is very excited about the stage four event.
“It showcases a unique skill set,” he said. “It really lets the general public see the teams race as one unit and it really brings home the impression of cycling as a team sport. It proves the point that nobody can win a race like the Tour de Georgia without a strong team.”
The team trial heats will be run in the reverse order of the stage three finish, meaning the first place team will go last in stage four.
Micah Rice, general manager of local favorite Jittery Joe’s professional cycling team, was on hand for Wednesday’s press conference. Rice said his team was looking forward to competing in the event.
“The team trial is going to be a very exciting aspect of the tour this year,” Rice said. “We’re pretty excited about it. We know we are going against the best teams in the world.”
Rice said the Road Atlanta course would be very difficult for the cycling teams and require great teamwork.
“It’s not necessarily the team with the strongest rider that is going to do well, it’s going to be who has the most depth and who can keep their five riders together and going strong until the very end,” he said.
Chris Aronhault, Event Director of the Tour de Georgia, said the team trial will increase interest in what has become both a national and international sporting event. Not only will this be the first year the tour has held a team trial event, this will also be the first year that China’s cycling team has competed in the race, Aronahult said. China’s national television network will also be covering the tour.
“It’s very exciting for us,” Aronhault said. “This is such a spectator friendly sport and [Road Atlanta] is such a spectator friendly venue. I think the two are just going to make a fantastic day for the families and the spectators to come out and enjoy the entire day.”
The stage four team trial event will take place Thursday, April 24 at Road Atlanta in Braselton. The expected start time is 1 p.m. The event is free for spectators.
Last year’s Tour de Georgia had over half a million spectators. Event organizers hope to have over a million spectators for this year’s 650 mile, seven day event.
For more information about the tour, visit www.tourdegeorgia.com.
