USPRO Cycling Championship moves to Greenville

[carolinadude9409]

I was in Augusta this weekend and saw a commercial advertising the race.

That's great, EDPro. I wonder why were not seeing commercials in this area though, seeing how the race is going to be held here. I wonder if it's because everybody that lives here already knows about the race and there's no reason to spend the money on having commercials here when they can spend it advertising the race in some other place like Augusta. All I have to say is: WELCOME TO CYLING TOWN: http://www.upstatelink.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../LINK/608220314

[carolinadude9409]

I said BOOM, here comes the BOOM, ready or not, here come the boys from the south:

Friday, Sept. 1:

USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial Championships:

20.15 miles, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Riders start in one-minute intervals at entrance of The Cliffs at Mountain Park and finish at The Cliffs Valley Wellness Center Complex.

Elevation: about 2,800 feet

Saturday, Sept. 2:

8 a.m.-2 p.m. Palmetto Peloton Project Charity Ride

10 a.m. Family ride

10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Greenville Hospital System health and wellness exhibits

3 p.m. B93.7 music DJ

3:30 p.m. Winner of Fresh New Music contest performs

4:15 p.m. another Fresh New Music Artist performs

5:30-6:30 p.m. Athlete presentation

6:30 p.m. Drew Copeland

7 p.m. Chasen

8:30 p.m. Sister Hazel

Sunday, Sept. 3:

USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championships

121 miles, five 21.93-mile laps, three 3.76-mile finishing circuits,

12:30-6 p.m.

Begins and ends in downtown Greenville near Main and Broad streets,

Interactive expo and exhibits, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Road closings:

From 5:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1, until the evening of Sunday, Sept. 3, downtown Greenville's Main Street from Court Street to Camperdown Way will be closed, as will Broad Street from Spring to River. Also expect other short-term road closures as needed for the race.

Previous winners of the pro championships:

2005 Chris Wherry

2004 Fred Rodriguez

2003 Mark McCormack

2002 Chann McRae

2001 Fred Rodriguez

2000 Fred Rodriguez

1999 Marty Jemison

1998 George Hincapie

1997 Bart Bowen

1996 Eddy Gragus

1995 Norman Alvis

1994 Steve Hegg

1993 Lance Armstrong

1992 Bart Bowen

1991 Davis Phinney

1990 Kurt Stockton

1989 Greg Oravetz

1988 Ron Kiefel

1987 Tom Schuler

1986 Thomas Prehn

1985 Eric Heiden

[carolinadude9409]

Top cyclists will compete in Greenville race: http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../LINK/608220363

[carolinadude9409]

Here is some info on road closures and time trials: http://www.greatergreenville.com/TrialandRaceClosure.pdf

[JCT]

George Hincapie looks to be on form for the upcoming race. He just took second in the Eneco Tour in Belgium, a race he really deserved to win.

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/10753.0.html

Let

[carolinadude9409]

Another article about the race: http://www.wyff4.com/news/9728688/detail.html

[distortedlogic]

So is anybody actually expcting "hundreds of thousands of visitors"? I could easily see thousands, and possibly even tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands???

It looks like we will have some good weather for the event....

a front is supposed to come through mid-week, leaving highs in the low 80's with lows in the low 60's.

[RestedTraveler]

So is anybody actually expcting "hundreds of thousands of visitors"? I could easily see thousands, and possibly even tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands???

It looks like we will have some good weather for the event....

a front is supposed to come through mid-week, leaving highs in the low 80's with lows in the low 60's.

I'm expecting between 10,000 and 15,000 spectators each day. Over the course of the weekend, that'd be 30,000-45,000 (obviously, most of them would be the same people counted multiple times).

That assult going up Altamont from the Travelers Rest side on Sunday is going to be grueling.

[goodbye]

RT, you're probably going to be light on those numbers, especially considering it is Labor Day weekend and a hurricane could be bearing down on the Gulf Coast by that time.

Check out one of the MANY banners up around town:

[RestedTraveler]

I'm actually adding 5,000 per day over what the organizers are expecting, according to "go" Magazine.

SOURCE

[RestedTraveler]

Some cool videos of the road race course (click on the red push pens). I really like the 60-second descent from the summit of Paris Mountain on Altamont.

Some cool videos of the time trial course, too.

[RestedTraveler]

City of Greenville Event Welcome Video

Lots more resources and information on the USA Cycling Pro Championships Official Web Site.

[RestedTraveler]

And another site that bears repeating: http://www.palmettopelotonproject.org/

[goodbye]

Awesome links, RT! Thanks for the heads up! That 2+ mile climb up Paris Mountain ought to be a fantastic spectacle.

[RestedTraveler]

Awesome links, RT! Thanks for the heads up! That 2+ mile climb up Paris Mountain ought to be a fantastic spectacle.

Unless I have an easy day of it at work on Friday, I'll have to miss the Time Trials.

I'm going to be there to catch at least one of those ascents on Sunday though. They're doing it five times, I believe? I've driven up that side of Paris Mountain a few times. I can't even imagine climbing it on a bike.

I'd like to get down to Cleveland Park for an early lap, too, and then be near South Main and Broad for the finish. That's a very loose map of my day on Sunday.

Then, after that, a ballgame. Busy day.

[JCT]

It is hard to guess how many people will come out to watch the races in the first year. I think RT

[carolinadude9409]

It is hard to guess how many people will come out to watch the races in the first year. I think RT

[carolinadude9409]

I can't believe not more people are posting in this thread. It seems like the only people posting on this topic lately are JCT, Skyliner, RT, and me along with the exception of a few others.

I was in Augusta this weekend and saw a commercial advertising the race.

I saw the commercial here yesterday for the first time. It was on TBS during the Atlanta Braves game.

[goodbye]

I will be working until later in the afternoon. I will also miss the Friday time trials because of work.

There are many factors which could affect the number of visitors on hand during the course of the events. One is the BMW reunion, which usually draws hundreds of visitors anyway. Another is the Clemson football game against Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Alone, it would probably not attract too many to Greenville, but with the potential threat of bad weather along the Fla coast, more spectators may decide to follow the team north. The final reason to hope for more visitors is that it is Labor Day weekend. These are only hopeful opportunities that play into our chances for the pro cycling race.

[carolinadude9409]

I'll miss the Friday time trials also, but due to school, not work. Luckily you'll be able to watch them Sunday night on OLN. This place is going to be jam packed during labor day weekend and I don't mean the forums either, even though I hope those will be too. I agree that we could get people coming up here from Florida too with that hurricane brewing.

[RestedTraveler]

Also, keep in mind that, in addition to spectators, the number of people associated with the race will be significant. Riders, team directors, coaches, drivers, mechanics, doctors, soigneurs, journalists, etc. will all be here and spending their money in Greenville. I think that the boost to the economy will be significant. A race of the magnitude is a big production and there are many behind the scenes people involved who will need to be in town.

How many people are typically associated with each rider or team of riders? As I understand it, there are going to only be around 150-160 riders here for the Race of Truth/Time Trial and the Roadrace. So, even if each rider has a team of 10 or so associated with them, that's only 1500-1600 people. Is this a close estimate?

[DT-Gville]

In addition to the Pro races this weekend, the SC Road Race Championship is also being held on Saturday, the 2nd.

Link to SC State Championship info

I am working the time trial and then just plan to chill on Sunday and watch the race.

[JCT]

How many people are typically associated with each rider or team of riders? As I understand it, there are going to only be around 150-160 riders here for the Race of Truth/Time Trial and the Roadrace. So, even if each rider has a team of 10 or so associated with them, that's only 1500-1600 people. Is this a close estimate?

As far as staff goes, you are probably about right. Keep in mind though that many of those teams and associated staff members will be in town longer than spectators.

Also, I didn

[distortedlogic]

It is hard to guess how many people will come out to watch the races in the first year. I think RT

[RestedTraveler]

Road closure and traffic delay signs have been put up all along the route of the road race.

I've seen a LOT more bikers out on the roads here around Travelers Rest and Furman over the past couple of days. Maybe they're locals that are inspired to get out. Maybe they're out-of-towners here to prepare for the race. I'm not sure.

I can't wait until this weekend. Regardless of the turnout, Greenville will put on a world-class event, I'm sure. And, whatever may be overlooked or fallen short on this time will surely be corrected before next year.