By Lydia Dishman
Contributing Writer

GREENVILLE -- CU-ICAR and the City of Greenville will be in the spotlight over Labor Day weekend as host of the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Pro Championships.

The professional road race competition is now in its 24th season and its third consecutive year in Greenville. It has brought tens of thousands of spectators to downtown and other points of the course to see the best American male cyclists compete.

This will be the first time that the Professional Individual Time Trials will be held at CU-ICAR. A map of the 6.9 mile closed course was displayed at a Tuesday news conference given by Medalist Sports, managers of the event.

“This is your CU-ICAR,” said Bob Geolas, executive director of CU-ICAR. “We just can’t wait to have all the activity this brings,” he said, explaining that health and wellness were an important part of the “technopolis.” 

As such, CU-ICAR not only has indoor fitness facility but a trail system for biking and walking and Geolas said hosting the ITT just made sense.  “This is about the future in a lot of different ways,” he said.

Greenville City Manager Jim Bourey said that this was a “signature event and a wonderful partnership,” with CU-ICAR.

He noted that past ITTs had been held at the Cliffs Valley community in Traveler’s Rest and when the option to move came up Bourey said the city worked to get it.

“We want to be known as the cycling capital of the country if not the world,” said Bourey who thinks the economic impact will be significant.

“It is difficult to know how many people will come to see the event,” he said, although estimates are as high as 100,000. “It is less about people and more about the world-wide exposure.”

Bourey thinks the TV broadcast of last year’s race generated 167 million hits on the Internet.

There may be even more virtual eyes on Greenville than last year with the availability of the free online program Google Earth and its newly added 3D model of downtown, part of Google’s "Cities in 3D Partner Program."

The ITT will take place at 11 a.m. August 30. The championship on August 31 will be over 110 miles with 10 downtown laps. The finish line will be in Greenville’s West End. All events and the race are free.

The Palmetto Peloton Project hosts the Stars and Stripes Challenge, a recreational running and cycling event also on August 31 to raise funds for local cancer research.