Volunteers Needed ForInternational Bike Race
Volunteers Needed For
International Bike Race
DANBURY â The Housatonic Valley Tourist District is recruiting volunteers to assist during the first Housatonic Valley Classic International Bike Race on Sunday, May 20. Top bicycle racers in North America are preparing for the classic, a National Racing Calendar (NRC) event, that will go through all ten district towns, including Newtown.
The five-hour race will begin at 9:30 am from CityCenter Danbury. Its spring position in the USA Cycling Federation calendar means it will be the warm-up for the prestigious United States Professional Cycling Championships on June 9.
This first-year event, designed by event promoter John Eustice of Sparta Cycling, will be one of the longest and most grueling races in North America.
âOur domestic racing class has too few chances to race real European distances,â says Mr Eustice. âThe magnificent 100 miles of the Housatonic Valley Classic will help us to create the Lance Armstrong of the future.â
The field of top competitors will wind through the ten towns of the Housatonic Valley in a clockwise circuit that begins in Danbury and heads north along Candlewood Lake through Sherman and New Milford before turning back south through Bridgewater, Brookfield, Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding, and Bethel. Each town will have an official spectator site and a series of festivities designed around the race. In Newtown, the official spectator site will be in front of Edmond Town Hall.
In addition to the Housatonic Valley Tourism District Title sponsorship, Belimo Aircontrols has signed on as a presenting sponsor. Union Savings Bank has undertaken an associate sponsorship. Town Sprint Sponsors are The Club of New Milford, Bethel Cycle, and Savings Bank of Danbury. WLAD AM is the official radio partner. Team sponsors are still being sought to underwrite international teams to represent the diverse ethnic population of the Housatonic Valley.
Anyone who is interested in sponsoring or volunteering should call the tourism office at 743-0546 for more information.