ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 28, 1996 TAG: 9611290120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.
Downtown Raleigh will host the finish of next year's Tour DuPont, the most prestigious bicycle race in America.
Race organizers have notified city officials that Raleigh will be the site of the highly publicized finish May 11. The city hosted time trials and the start and finish of stages of the race this year.
The only hitch is a dispute between partners in the company that manages the race, which, if not resolved, could kill the event. But local organizers have been told that the race will go on as planned. The 1997 Tour is scheduled to stop in Roanoke and the New River Valley.
``I am operating under the assumption that there will be a race next year and Raleigh will be the overall finish,'' Mayor Tom Fetzer said.
Last year, a field of 112 riders began the 12-day race May 1 in Wilmington, Del. After leaving Delaware, the cyclists progressed through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee before the final two stages in Georgia. There were 85 finishers.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines KEYWORDS: CYCLINGby CNB