I've been THROUGH Tonopah. It's about the size of Shaniko, plus a movie theater.

Let's all just agree that that the Tour of America is not going to happen. At least, not in the format that it's been presented in so far. I mean, come on, there's a handful of stages in there that are longer than friggin' Amstel. What a joke. That's right up there with 178 meter velodromes.

Pro-level racing here in the states would benefit more from spectator-friendly venues, TV coverage, and a little more hype for our older events. Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege didn't become what they are as result of a corporate brainchild and a five-year run. Races like those are a long-standing tradition. We need to get our current classics some recognition and leave the grand tours where they're appreciated.

> Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:44:11 -0700
> From: RCJohnson1@attglobal.net
> To: kj_finch@yahoo.com
> CC: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Tour of America
>
> The more I think about their whole proposed schedule the more I'm
> convinced this is either:
> a) a clever publicity stunt
> or
> b) some people who are completely out to lunch
>
> I mean come on, a stage finish in Tonopah, Nevada? Who's actually been
> to Tonopah? I don't know about you but that's far from the top of my
> list as a bicycling destination of any kind - let alone a race.
>
> Rick
>
> Ken Finch wrote:
>
> >At a time when professional racers are already complaining about the demands of three week tours and those demands being cited as a major cause of doping, I'm not really sure if a 4 week, 3000 mile tour is the direction professional cycling needs to be moving in.
> >
> >Not to mention all the other obstacles that exist to pulling this off.
> >
> >Ken F.
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> >
> >
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