Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 9, 1995 TAG: 9505090083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Area officials were beaming once again after Sunday's conclusion of the Tour DuPont, which for the second time included a stop in the Roanoke Valley and for the third time a stage finish in Blacksburg.
But despite the success of Stage 4 and Stage 5, those same officials are wondering whether they will become casualties of the success of the Tour.
Medalist Sports, Inc., the Richmond-based company that organizes the top-ranked non-European cycling event, is making plans to head farther south for an overall finish in Atlanta in 1996. The plan is to have the Tour, tentatively set for May 1-12, serve as a tuneup for the 1996 Summer Olympics, where professional cyclists will be able to compete for the first time.
``We had a group of people from Marietta [Ga., outside Atlanta] here this week, and their response was very positive,'' said Medalist president Mike Plant, speaking Sunday in Greensboro, N.C., after Lance Armstrong became the first U.S. cyclist since Greg LeMond in 1992 to win the event.
``I think it's a matter of them going back and finding necessary funding,'' Plant said. ``They seem confident they can do that, and I've given them a June 1 deadline.''
Plant said he would select host cities for the course in 1996 differently than he has in the first seven years of the event's existence. Previously, he sent out bid packages to any city that expressed interest. Medalist then selected the sites that could best meet its requirements and mapped out the race.
Plant said this year he planned to put the bookends for the course in place, then contact only those cities he felt would fit best in between. Those bookends likely will be Wilmington, Del., where DuPont is based and where the race has started the past six years, and Atlanta.
But officials in the Roanoke Valley and Blacksburg feel confident the race will return to their localities.
``I think with our history they'll find a way to have a finish here no matter where the course goes,'' said Mike Matzuk, chairman of Blacksburg's organizing committee. ``The [Medalist officials] are real hard to pin down because they're all smiles and sweet when they're here, but things look good.''
A ringing endorsement from the overall winner doesn't hurt, either. Armstrong, who took control of the race April 30 in the mountains between Lynchburg and Blacksburg, called Stage 4 his favorite.
``I really enjoyed the finish with the huge crowd there on campus,'' said Armstrong, who made the circuit around the Virginia Tech drill field before finishing on the mall in front of an estimated crowd of 30,000.
Armstrong also had high praise for the Roanoke Valley time trail, which he won the next day.
``Roanoke was definitely going to be a decisive stage, and as long as they continue to have it, I think it will be the day,'' Armstrong said. ``I hope they keep having it. ... I wouldn't change the time trial in Roanoke at all because it favors me.''
Plant said he thought it would be hard for the Tour DuPont to skip the the valley next year.
``It certainly has become a mark of the Tour,'' he said. ``Some of it is just logistics and geography, but look at the community support we've gotten. And we've created a very good partnership,'' with Cycle Roanoke Valley, Inc., the non-profit organization formed to organize the valley's involvement with the Tour.
``We're pleased,'' said Brian Duncan, an executive board member of Cycle Roanoke Valley and assistant director of economic development for Roanoke County.
``We had nothing but good feedback. ... The first thing out of Mike [Plant's] mouth when we saw him right after the time trial was `Are you guys ready to do it again next year?' We just hope the fee remains reasonable.''
Duncan said Cycle Roanoke Valley paid $7,500 to Medalist to serve as host for Stage 5 this year, then raised more than $70,000 to cover additional expenses. The group is interested in increasing its exposure and involvement by adding a stage start or finish.
``But we definitely want to keep the time trial because of the marketing possibilities and any potential ties to Olympic training,'' said Duncan, adding that the group would consider a multiyear contract with Medalist.
Steve Brunner, Medalist's media and public relations director, said the company was considering Cycle Roanoke Valley's request for added involvement.
``We're thinking about maybe adding a circuit or have the time trial and a start,'' Brunner said. ``We want to mix it up and keep it exciting for the fans.''
by CNB