As many predicted, the 2008 Tour of America tentatively scheduled for this fall has been cancelled. Organizers of the prospective cross-country bicycle stage race are now looking ahead to the fall of 2009.
Frank Arokiasamy, a management consultant, had unveiled plans for the bike race at last year's Interbike Expo in Las Vegas. The bike racing press immediately considered it an extreme long shot.
Organizers are still working on route details, sponsorships and dates to get the race on the USA Cycling's national calendar for 2009 and seeking approval by UCI.
As it stands now, the Tour of America would be a 21-stage, 2,200-mile coast-to-coast bike race. It would start in New York and finish in San Francisco and be the only such race in the US.
More disturbing than this unscheduled race being postponed for a year is the news that the Tour of Virginia 2008 has been cancelled and the Tour de 'Toona has been knocked back from a week to one day (see CyclingNews).
Check out the Tour of America website for more info and a call for volunteers. You can read the press release at Bicycle.Net or read some commentary at Flahute.
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