USA Cycling Professional Road Championships looking for a new home for the 2013 season
Greenville, South Carolina, has been the home for USA Cycling Professional Road Championships since the past seven years. However, 2012 will be the last year for Greenville to host the contest.
Chris Aronhalt, Managing Partner of Medalist Sports, told Cyclingnews about the possible change of venue for the 2013 season.
He briefed, "The Request for Proposal (RFP) has been out from USA Cycling for over nine months now and I know they have had on-going discussions with several cities and partner sponsors that want to be part of the event”.
Chris explained that Greenville is also hosting the Para-cycling World Championships for 2014, which will be the centre of its attention.
Hence, organising both the events will not be an easy task for the management.
He pointed out that Greenville has not placed its bid to host the event so there is definitely a big question mark on the issue.
Moreover, Philadelphia and Greenville are the only two cities that have hosted the American National Road Race Championships in the past. The management is now looking at other options to host the event.
The administration understands that extending the race to other cities will definitely help in promoting the race.
Also, a lot of financial support is needed to host an event and hence the decision is made after considering all the aspects.
Aronhalt told the media, "It takes a lot to host nationals in terms of partnerships, the terrain and financial support. I know there are other cities that are in interested and in discussions with USA Cycling".
Greenville is George Hincapie’s home town and it is still not certain if last year’s runner-up will ride the coming editions of the race.
The 38-year-old mentioned that changing the host town will not alter his plans by any means and his participation only depends if his family allows him to continue with the sport.
Hincapie finished second at the National Road Race Championships and claimed the 5th overall position at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
He also won the second stage of the race, along with a 6th place finish at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
George briefed that he will make the final decision in the coming months and if he is fit enough there is no reason to miss such a big event.
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