ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TAG: 9602140033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
THE TOUR DuPONT will release the route for Stage 5 at a news conference today.
Although four-wheel drives have been the preferred mode of transportation lately, it won't be long before the wizards of one-wheel drives are back pedaling through the Roanoke and New River valleys.
The 1996 Tour DuPont course and major sponsors will be announced today in a news conference at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel. The Tour's fifth stage, from Mount Airy, N.C., will end in downtown Roanoke on Sunday, May 5 at about 5 p.m. Riders will roll from Salem to Blacksburg the next afternoon in Stage 6.
This will be the area's third time playing host to the event, but the first time one of the 10 race stages will be run. In the past, Roanoke has played host to a time trial, where riders are up against the clock, not each other.
``For the first time, Roanoke Valley fans will get to see a traditional race,'' said Brian Duncan, board member of Cycle Roanoke Valley, the local organizing group for Stage 5 of the Tour.
While the course will not be announced until this morning, it is believed Stage 5 will descend into the Roanoke area down Virginia 116 from Windy Gap Mountain, wind through Southeast Roanoke and into downtown.
Details of Stage 6 will be announced at a news conference on Feb.21.
At 135 miles long, Stage 6 takes a convoluted a path from Salem to Blacksburg. After beginning at the Salem Civic Center, riders will head out Virginia 311 to New Castle and then cut back east to Mountain Lake. From Mountain Lake, riders head to Blacksburg, where they hit North Main Street and finish at the Virginia Tech Mall.
``It's basically the same route as two years ago,'' said Blacksburg assistant town manager Bonnie Svrcek.
Riders will not circle the Virginia Tech drill field as they did last year.
The 12-day event, which begins in Wilmington, Del., and ends in Marietta, Ga., has been upgraded by the Union Cycliste International (UCI), and is now the highest-ranked race outside Europe. The only races ranked above the 8-year-old Tour DuPont are the tours of France, Italy and Spain, each more than 60 years old.
LENGTH: Short : 48 linesby CNB