In an announcement that likely surprised no one, organizers of the inaugural Tour of America have pushed the cross-continent race back to 2009, Velonews reported today.
The race had been scheduled to go through or near Lancaster County on Sept. 7, during stage one of the race. That stage was due to start in Philadelphia and riders would have passed through this area on their way to College Park, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.
The race was first announced at last September’s Interbike trade show, where it was met was skepticism. In December, race director Frank Arokiasamy said the original miles to be raced and days to be raced were being cut in half.
Arokiasamy had been criticized for over-reaching with the first-time race. Team leaders and bicycling commentators contended the initial East Coast-to-West Coast course was too long, the logistics too complicated, there would not be necessary time to get local route approvals and the needed fund-raising too ambitious.
Arokiasamy’s vision is to hold an American cross-country race that would eclipse the Tour de France. If the Tour of America happens, it would easily overshadow the nation’s existing stage races. Both the Tour of Georgia and Tour of California are only week-long events.
The 2009 race’s exact route and schedule has not released, but the route is expected to include New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Denver, Las Vegas and the California cities of Sacramento, Napa, Santa Rosa and Palo Alto, Velonews reported.
