Economic slump kills 2010 Tour de Georgia

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Tour de Georgia has been grounded for another year.

Organizers had hoped to revive the event in April 2010 after a one-year hiatus. But they issued a press release last week saying one of America's biggest stage races won't return until at least 2011, according to cyclingnews.com.

“This was not an easy decision, but one that was best in the current economic climate," Tom Saddlemire, board member of the Tour de Georgia Foundation, Inc., said in the statement. "The Board of Directors and our advisors did all we could to tailor a race to fit within the economic realities of today and we are understandably disappointed in this announcement, but we are committed to bringing back the Tour as soon as possible."

The foundation "thoroughly examined every potential avenue to bring a race together this year, but despite good fundraising efforts, there simply were not enough sponsorship dollars available to stage a Tour de Georgia in 2010."

In its six-year run from 2003 to 2008, the race covered 600 miles and drew hundreds of thousands of spectators each year. Fifteen teams of eight cyclists each competed in the 2008 race, won by Kanstantin Sivtsov of Belarus.

Lance Armstrong used the Tour de Georgia as preparation for his 2004 and 2005 Tour de France victories.