Just to get away from all the doping issues. The Tour of Georgia should be on about now but was cancelled this year. A lot of fuss has been made about the huge surge of interest in cycling in the US since the Lance phenonemon began but personally I dont see this reflected at the top level in the US.
I started following cycling 20 years ago & even then there was some great US races like , Tour du Pont, Thrift Drug Classic, Atlanta GP, West Virginia Mountain Classic & of course USPRO week in June, all of which Lance won. In 2009, there is Tour of California, Tour of Missouri, Philly & USPROs and thats about it for big time races in the US.
Likewise, team wise, there was Motorola, Subaru-Montgomery, Coors Light, Chevrolet/La Sheriff, Spago & a few smaller teams in the early 90s. There are a lot more teams now but the line between pro & am became blurred a long time ago. I would say Garmin, BMC, OUCH, Health Net & Bissell are the only proper pro teams nowadays. Sorry, Columbia are American sponsored but not really an American team, only US riders are Hicapie, Lewis.
I have been to Philly & San Francisco, both great events with huge crowds and attending then gave the impression that cycling is big news in the US.
Wouldnt it be great to see a US calendar with events like, California, Georgia, Du Pont, Missour, WV Classic, Coors Classic, Utah as the top stage races and one day events like Atlanta, Thrift Drug, San Francisco, Saturn Classic, US Pros, Philly. It would make for a great calendar that would attract even decent Euro teams.
I guess the real question is, will US Pro Cycling ever grow beyond its current level and is enough being done to harness the Lance affect.
I started following cycling 20 years ago & even then there was some great US races like , Tour du Pont, Thrift Drug Classic, Atlanta GP, West Virginia Mountain Classic & of course USPRO week in June, all of which Lance won. In 2009, there is Tour of California, Tour of Missouri, Philly & USPROs and thats about it for big time races in the US.
Likewise, team wise, there was Motorola, Subaru-Montgomery, Coors Light, Chevrolet/La Sheriff, Spago & a few smaller teams in the early 90s. There are a lot more teams now but the line between pro & am became blurred a long time ago. I would say Garmin, BMC, OUCH, Health Net & Bissell are the only proper pro teams nowadays. Sorry, Columbia are American sponsored but not really an American team, only US riders are Hicapie, Lewis.
I have been to Philly & San Francisco, both great events with huge crowds and attending then gave the impression that cycling is big news in the US.
Wouldnt it be great to see a US calendar with events like, California, Georgia, Du Pont, Missour, WV Classic, Coors Classic, Utah as the top stage races and one day events like Atlanta, Thrift Drug, San Francisco, Saturn Classic, US Pros, Philly. It would make for a great calendar that would attract even decent Euro teams.
I guess the real question is, will US Pro Cycling ever grow beyond its current level and is enough being done to harness the Lance affect.