Tour of USA, Tour of Canada



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lowkey

Guest
Have these ever been tried? Granted it would be an uphill grind to pierce
the apathy of North Americans toward such things but maybe it could
publicize the sport and possibly leading to a World Series of national
winners.

The North American versions would have to be different of course:

-much simpler rules Nordi Americanos would not stand for the overly complex
rules.

-a much longer race, I think, that has stages stretching across the
continent. Canada could probably manage a stage in each province, and
territory. That might not be do-able for the 50 states of the US. Perhaps
they could have stages stretching across the US in a more linear fashion,
simulating the western expansion of pioneers, perchance.

-Most importantly the tours would have to be injected with a healthy dose of
Hollywood/Las Vegas glitz and very hard sell: And in-your-face, extreme
presentation that borrows from Superbowl-type hype.

What is really needed is some heavyweight $pon$or$ willing to eat the cost
of hyping the Tours initially through early lacklustre years. Though I hate
to say it, Wal-Mart owners do sell bikes and have deep pockets. Bush might
even be brought on board. :)

--
'Lady Astor, you are ugly'
'Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!'
'Yes, but tomorrow, I shall be sober.'
-attributed to churchill and astor
 
In article <[email protected]>,
lowkey <[email protected]> wrote:
> Have these ever been tried? Granted it would be an uphill grind to pierce
>the apathy of North Americans toward such things but maybe it could
>publicize the sport and possibly leading to a World Series of national
>winners.


There have been major multi-state stage races through the Rockies (Coors
Classic in the 1980s) and the Appalachians (Tour duPont in the 1990s).
Those eventually failed due to lack of sponsorship.
 
lowkey wrote:
> Have these ever been tried? Granted it would be an uphill grind to pierce
> the apathy of North Americans toward such things but maybe it could
> publicize the sport and possibly leading to a World Series of national
> winners.
>
> The North American versions would have to be different of course:
>
> -much simpler rules Nordi Americanos would not stand for the overly complex
> rules.
>
> -a much longer race, I think, that has stages stretching across the
> continent. Canada could probably manage a stage in each province, and
> territory. That might not be do-able for the 50 states of the US. Perhaps
> they could have stages stretching across the US in a more linear fashion,
> simulating the western expansion of pioneers, perchance.
>
> -Most importantly the tours would have to be injected with a healthy dose of
> Hollywood/Las Vegas glitz and very hard sell: And in-your-face, extreme
> presentation that borrows from Superbowl-type hype.
>
> What is really needed is some heavyweight $pon$or$ willing to eat the cost
> of hyping the Tours initially through early lacklustre years. Though I hate
> to say it, Wal-Mart owners do sell bikes and have deep pockets. Bush might
> even be brought on board. :)
>


Here's one the America's race, starts in Labrador, Canada heads west
through to say Kingston, Ontario, heads south through New York State,
and works it's way south west, crosses into Mexico, down through Central
America. Wanna see a challenge, the stage that ends in La Pas, Bolivia,
at 3650m (that's a brain numbing 11,975'). The race ends in Rio
Gallegos, Argentina....

Think of the potential economic benefits to the cities and countries
this would pass through.....

W
 
The Wogster wrote:
> Here's one the America's race, starts in Labrador, Canada heads west
> through to say Kingston, Ontario, heads south through New York State,
> and works it's way south west, crosses into Mexico, down through Central
> America. Wanna see a challenge, the stage that ends in La Pas, Bolivia,
> at 3650m (that's a brain numbing 11,975'). The race ends in Rio
> Gallegos, Argentina....
>
> Think of the potential economic benefits to the cities and countries
> this would pass through.....


Yeah, the bears and moose along Hwy 500 between Happy Valley and
Labrador City could sell blueberries along the side of the road.
 
Oh, I see you've been to Happy Valley. Pemmican anyone? ;)

That would be one seriously cool ride though. People have called the TdF
"mostly boring" with some mad dashes thrown in.
I enjoy it but can see where they're coming from.

With a cross-Americas Tour, maybe the appeal would be seeing the ride go
through people's "backyards" so to speak. The climatic variation would
really be something.

*shrug* Who knows... maybe people would still find it boring.

I like the suggestion though. La Pas is just a nutty goal. I think we'd lose
most of the riders on the way up. (or they'd die trying)

How about this: a cycle adventure race. The race doesn't stop - you just
keep riding until your team needs rest. Do that across the Americas. No
hotels. You get to see the riders camping out.




"Brian Huntley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> The Wogster wrote:
>> Here's one the America's race, starts in Labrador, Canada heads west
>> through to say Kingston, Ontario, heads south through New York State,
>> and works it's way south west, crosses into Mexico, down through Central
>> America. Wanna see a challenge, the stage that ends in La Pas, Bolivia,
>> at 3650m (that's a brain numbing 11,975'). The race ends in Rio
>> Gallegos, Argentina....
>>
>> Think of the potential economic benefits to the cities and countries
>> this would pass through.....

>
> Yeah, the bears and moose along Hwy 500 between Happy Valley and
> Labrador City could sell blueberries along the side of the road.
>
 
"C.J.Patten" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Oh, I see you've been to Happy Valley. Pemmican anyone? ;)
>
> That would be one seriously cool ride though. People have called the TdF
> "mostly boring" with some mad dashes thrown in.
> I enjoy it but can see where they're coming from.
>
> With a cross-Americas Tour, maybe the appeal would be seeing the ride go
> through people's "backyards" so to speak. The climatic variation would
> really be something.
>
> *shrug* Who knows... maybe people would still find it boring.
>
> I like the suggestion though. La Pas is just a nutty goal. I think we'd
> lose most of the riders on the way up. (or they'd die trying)
>
> How about this: a cycle adventure race. The race doesn't stop - you just
> keep riding until your team needs rest. Do that across the Americas. No
> hotels. You get to see the riders camping out.


I think part of the problem... or opportunity is the failure to utilize
Gordon Gecko-esque GREED in making these North American Tours. Admittedly
interest in cycling does not compare to Europe.

So how to attract interest? $$$$$$! If you offer a big enough prize people
will watch simply for that reason. Which means all you need is a filthy rich
dude to pony up enough of a purse to incite that natural Yankee [and to a
lesser extent, Canuck] greed motivation.

If I had a gazillion dollars and lived the life of philanthropy, this is
how I would sponsor a Tour de Canada:

Nunavut

Stage 1 Iqualat - 100 km

Newfoundland

Stage 2 Goose Bay 100 km

Stage 3 Gander - St. John's 330 km

PEI

Stage 4 Tignish - Murray Harbour 215 km


Nova Scotia

Stage 5 Sydney - Truro 313 km

Stage 6 Dartmouth - Lunenburg 104 km

New Brunswick

Stage 7 Sackville - Fredericton 217 km

Stage 8 Grand Anse - Campbellton 154 km


Quebec

Stage 9 Quebec City - Montreal 260 km

Stage 10 Montreal - Ottawa 201 km

Ontario

Stage 11 Kingston - Toronto 252 km

Stage 12 Sudbury - Timmins 298 km

Northwest Territories

Stage 13 Yellowknife - 100 km

Manitoba

Stage 14 Winnipeg - Brandon 215 km

Saskatchewan

Stage 15 Regina - Saskatoon 257 km

Yukon

Stage 16 Whitehorse 100 km

Alberta

Stage 17 Edmonton - Calgary 297 km

Stage 18 Calgary - Banff 129 km

British Columbia

Stage 19 Sicamous - Merritt 225 km

Stage 20 Merritt - Vancouver 269 km

Total Distance: 4136 km

1st Place: $1,000,000
2nd Place: $ 500,000
3rd Place: $ 250,000
4th Place: $ 100,000
5th Place: $ 70,000
6th Place: $ 40,000
7th Place: $ 20,000
8th Place: $ 10,000
9th Place: $ 7,000
10th Place: $ 3,000
Stage Prize:$ 500,000 [$25,000 x 20]

Total: $2,500,000

Throw in 10 rest/travel days and you have a month long event.

For the US I think I would set up 100 km stages in each of the 50 states
[$10,000 prize per stage] for a 5,000 km race with similar prizes but in
Yankee dollars.

Now all I need is the gazillion dollars. Donations welcome.

--
'For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall,
Concert hall
And echoes with the sounds of salesmen.'
rush
 
"lowkey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Nunavut
>
> Stage 1 Iqualat - 100 km


<snipped the other stages>


LOL!

Now, if you want to make it just a touch evil, have that Canadian tour take
place in February. ;)
 
"C.J.Patten" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "lowkey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> Nunavut
>>
>> Stage 1 Iqualat - 100 km

>
> <snipped the other stages>
>
>
> LOL!
>
> Now, if you want to make it just a touch evil, have that Canadian tour
> take place in February. ;)


:)

Hey, I had to find some way to include each prov/territory. Nunavut seemed
fitting as the newest to be the first. I was thinking not of a long trek
across ice flows but more of an oval sprint in the capital. Same thin with
Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

Probably better schedule it for the month of August.
 
Lack of sponsorship, probably due to lack of marketable riders like LA.
Now if he could be brought on to something like this and keep the
movement going in a positive direction by creating other marketable
riders. These types of events might prove to be more sustainable(sp?).

Ken
 
C.J.Patten wrote:[snip]
> How about this: a cycle adventure race. The race doesn't stop - you just
> keep riding until your team needs rest. Do that across the Americas. No
> hotels. You get to see the riders camping out.


Here you go, time to get training....

http://www.transamracing.org/

Racing with out those pesky team cars, carry your own stuff.
Old Henri Dresange would be proud.

Scott G.
 
They will have a recap this Fall/Winter on NBC I think. Over the first
stage, you get separated by your different speeds. You don't have any
stage stops to regroup, so all you would see is single riders.
 

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