After three decades away, world cycling championships return to US
The nine-day Union Cycliste Internationale Road World Cycling Championships are being held in Richmond, Va., the first time in nearly 30 years that the event has been on US soil.
Fans line the finish, pounding on the barriers in support of teams finishing the first day of the 2015 Cycling Road World Championships in Richmond, Va. on Sunday.
Lisa Suhay
After a 30-year absence, the UCI Road World Cycling Championships has returned to the United States for a nine-day event,聽bringing with it a turning point for American competitive road cycling and its fans.
Signs placed at major bends in the Richmond, Va.,聽course grandly state, 鈥淭he world turns here.鈥� So, too, may the future of American road cycling which, if all goes well in Richmond, may see more cities reaching for the opportunity to host world-class events such as this one. The last time the event was held in the United States was in 1986 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Richmond outbid Quebec City and聽the Arabian country of Oman to host the $20 million event, which runs from聽Sept. 19 to 27. The city has hosted major cycling events such as the聽)聽and the聽.
According to the聽the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), Richmond 2015 , from both event staging and visitor spending with an expected state tax revenue of $5 million.
鈥淎mericans are starved for top-level racing." says聽former pro cyclist聽,聽who broadcasts for聽Universal Sports Network and who covered the event the last time it was in the US, in an interview.聽"Whenever racing comes to America, America turns out to see it.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome to have the 'worlds' back in the US after so long,鈥� Mr. Gogulski says. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 just a lot of anticipation in the US market. We鈥檝e seen a lot of pent-up interest in world championships than there was before. The fan base has just completely changed, evolved.鈥�
According to Gogulski, the 1984 Olympics brought cycling to the attention of the American public, and the 1986 World Championships held in Colorado Springs culminated in聽聽victories of聽聽and the now-disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
The World Championships is made up of 12 races, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚, each race crowning a new world champion.
The world鈥檚 top cyclists from 75 countries will compete, for an expected total of about 450,000 fans, according to a聽.
Sunday聽saw the Team Time Trial, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚.聽听补苍诲听聽won the first gold medals of the championships.
Sporting a USA Cycling cap, 7-year-old Maisy Wiseman, watched the teams pass her and her father at between 55-60 miles per hour on the descent down Main Street聽on Sunday.
鈥淚 thought they were going like a bajillion miles an hour,鈥� she said after several teams had sped by. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen [a] bike race before, but not as big as this.鈥�
Asked if she was glad the race was in America, Maisy answered, 鈥淵ou bet!鈥�
Afterward, American cyclist Danny Pate of Team Sky said in an interview, 鈥淚 like the course. It鈥檚 great to have it back at home. It鈥檒l be interesting to see how many people come out for the road race. Hopefully we鈥檒l get a big turnout for that.鈥�
The time trials continue through mid-week. A聽聽is available for both iPhone and Android with race schedules and other useful information for those wishing to attend not just the races, but also the festivals and concerts.
Two fans sure to be in attendance are Jeffry and Tiffany Silverberg of Florida, parents of the youngest rider in the series,聽, age 19.
鈥淲e never thought we鈥檇 see him in America. Never in America,鈥� says Mr. Silverberg. 鈥淲e almost made it to see him in Spain, but then it didn鈥檛 happen. So this is the first time we鈥檙e seeing him in a world event. This is a great city. Friendly people. Beautiful location and the weather is perfect. I hope we see many more world-class events in the United States.鈥�
Janet Inwood, a nurse with VCU Health, and her wife are local course marshals and hospitality volunteers for the聽 Ms. Inwood says in an interview that the couple 鈥渢ook the entire week off from work just to insure that events run smoothly in hopes of furthering American cycling.鈥�
鈥淚 attended the Tour de France last year and I鈥檓 so glad this event is in my city today. I鈥檓 happy for everyone who wants to see cycling grow in America,鈥� Inwood adds.