On April 7th the peloton will be racing from Williamsburg to Richmond, VA in the inaugural U.S. Open Championships road cycling race. This event will be the first professional cycling race to hit the streets of the Capital since the Tour de DuPont and Tour de Trump last rumbled down the cobblestones of Monument Avenue 11 years ago.

This contest will consist of both a women’s and a men’s race. The women’s race will be a bit short and will begin in downtown Richmond, covering a total of around27 miles. The men’s race will start at 8:10 a.m. in Williamsburg and head west into Richmond covering 5o miles. Once in Richmond, the racers will ride eight laps around a downtown circuit totaling seven miles.

Attending the race will be 2007 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. His presence at the race will help promote cycling not only here in Virginia, but throughout the country. In addition, NBC will be televising the race by delay on April 7th at 2:30pm.

I will be there in attendance as I was for the Tour de Trump when Greg LeMond won and the Tour de Dupont when Armstrong won. This race will be a fantastic stage hosting the most tremendous, young cycling talent the U.S. is producing since LeMond put the U.S. on the cycling map in the 80s. I hope to report my adventures from race in my next post.