Interesting article from the NYT today. I realize there are concerns to moving this down the calendar but how can you argue against a race in the 7th largest economy in the world (California) which is part of the largest consumer economy in the world (US). I love all the cool spring classics but are there as many consumers in Flanders? Bicycle racing is a biz after all…
February 24, 2009
Soon, Tour of California May Be Later and Longer
By BILLY WITZ
ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The Tour of California is still a young race, having just completed its fourth year. But when an authority like Lance Armstrong spoke in wide-eyed wonder Sunday about the enthusiastic crowds that turned out last weekend at places like the Rose Bowl and Palomar Mountain, it was clear that the event was growing up quickly.
The question facing the event’s organizers is whether the Tour of California is ready to become a major player in cycling. To do so will probably require a move on the calendar.
“If you put this race in April or June, the sky’s the limit,” said Bob Stapleton, the owner of Columbia-Highroad, the team that fielded the tour’s third-place finisher, Michael Rogers, and its best sprinter, Mark Cavendish.
A warmer-weather date would push the race into the heart of the professional cycling season, when the two biggest events are the Giro d’Italia in May and the Tour de France in July, and attract more spectators and sponsors. It would also provide better racing conditions.
But what is uncertain is whether it will still draw the same type of field. With no competition on the cycling calendar, teams from Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Switzerland raced here.
“It’s tricky,” said Jonathan Vaughters, the director of Garmin-Slipstream, the team of the second-place finisher, David Zabriskie. “If you do it later, you might dilute the field by overlapping historical races. Different teams would have trouble participating at different points.”
Any switch would have to be done in concert with the international cycling federation, the U.C.I. Andrew Messick, the president of AEG Sports, which owns and operates the Tour of California, said that there had been substantial discussion on the matter and that it could be resolved in the next two months.
“In summation, it’s not simple,” Messick said.
What might have helped create momentum for a change was the rainy, blustery weather that riders faced in the first two stages of the Tour of California. Some riders expressed concern about coming down with illnesses that would hamper their training.
A later date would minimize those conditions and also open up the Sierra mountains as a site for holding a stage. In February, there is too much snow in the Sierras.
The two time frames receiving the most consideration are late April, the spot vacated by the now-defunct Tour de Georgia, and early June — between the marquee races in France and Italy.
Vaughters said that opinions were divided among riders, and that there were good cases for both dates. He said he did feel strongly, though, that any move should not be made in increments. If the date is changed, the tour should be extended from nine days to at least two weeks, with the intention of being on par with the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in August.
“To make an intermediate step is hard,” Vaughters said. “You’ve got to take the full plunge.”
On that point, Stapleton agreed.
“I’d like to see it in June and have it be the race,” he said. “If we move it and stretch it out, I think we’d have a real crown jewel.”
Stapleton conceded that asking riders to go from Italy to California, nine time zones away, and back to France in a month’s time was a serious obstacle to a June race.
But he contended that competitive concerns could be trumped by commercial appeal.
Many of the European races have tradition that the Tour of California cannot match. But Messick said that this year’s tour was distributed on television in 90 countries, that it was watched by crowds totaling two million, and that the United States was the world’s largest market for bicycle manufacturers.
Also, a race in early June like the Tour of Flanders does not have Arnold Schwarzenegger or Luke Wilson congratulating the stage winners.
“There’s a compelling story to tell about a race that’s later in the calendar, one that’s still able to attract the athletes that we want, but can better showcase the state,” Messick said. “We’re optimistic we can find that spot.”