The 12 host cities were announced for the 2007 Tour de Georgia on Tuesday morning and Fayette County residents got a nice surprise when it was announced that Peachtree City would be the official start for this year’s race.

The race will start on April 16 in Peachtree City. A route has yet to be announced but 15 world class teams with 120 cyclists will be in town on that Monday, shooting for a chance to wear the yellow jersey. Though the route has yet to be finalized, it is expected to go through several Fayette County locations on its way to Macon.

"It is an honor and a privilege for Peachtree City to be selected as the host city for the overall start of the 2007 Tour de Georgia,” said Mayor Harold Logsdon on the Tour’s official web site, www.tourdegeorgia.com. “We will strive to reflect all that is great about Peachtree City/Fayette County and our state during the premier cycling event in North America."

Lauren Yawn, director of the Peachtree City Tourism Association, said the event will bring lots of athletes and spectators to town. A local organizing committee has been formed to plan a number of events for the weekend leading up to race day, and the group will host a dinner the night before the race and a pre-race breakfast for the athletes, who will be staying at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.

Volunteers and sponsors will be needed for the event, and the committee will coordinate those facets of the event, Yawn said.

“It’s a huge event for the community,” Yawn said.

It was also announced on Tuesday that an extra day of racing has been awarded to the Tour de Georgia by the UCI (the international cycling union) and this year's race will end at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Other locations on the Tour are Thomaston, Rome, Chattanooga, Tenn., Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Brasstown Bald Mountain, Dalton, Lake Lanier Islands and Stone Mountain Park.

Over the past four years, 2.3 million spectators have attended the Tour de Georgia to watch 15 of the best national and international cycling teams compete. Close to 4,000 volunteers have dedicated their time and efforts to making the event safe for participants and spectators. In 2006 the Tour generated a direct economic impact of $26 million to the state economy.

The Georgia Cancer Coalition has been designated the charitable beneficiary of the Tour de Georgia every year since its inception in 2003. The Tour has raised $150,000 over the past four years for the Coalition from corporate sponsorships, drawings, raffles, merchandise sales, and the BriarRose Grand Peloton. Funds raised during the Tour de Georgia go directly to the Georgia Cancer Coalition's Cancer Research Fund. In conjunction with donations from Georgia's citizens who indicate their support for cancer research on their income tax returns, the Coalition has been able to award eight (8) cancer research grants totaling more than $400,000.

More details will follow over the coming weeks and months as teams commit to the race and the finalized route is announced.

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