In a very unassuming building on Senoia Rd. in Tyrone Ga., the staff of Medalist Sports build cycling events. Not only have they put together events such as the Tour Du Pont and the Tour de Georgia, but they also work with the USA Cycling Pro Championships, and have established the Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri.

Jim Birrell is the race director for Medalist Sports and has assisted in manging the Tour de Georgia since its inception in 2003. He and Chris Aronhalt, Vice President of Operations, are very excited that this year’s race starts so close to home.

“The start is four miles from our office this year,” said Birrell. “Life is easy for us.” In year’s past, the race started in Augusta or Macon and the staff from Medalist Sports, the volunteers, the teams and their staffs would have to make the hop from Hartsfield Airport to the start city. Things are running much easier this year. “We get to stay home until the race starts,” added Birrell.

The teams were expected to start arriving on Thursday and there will be full house on Saturday, which is when the press conference and the team presentation will occur. Though Fayette County has seen the race pass through the past two years, hosting the overall start will give area residents a better feel of all that goes in to putting on a race of this magnitude. They will see the teams riding the streets of Peachtree City in the days leading up to the race, and the local hotels and restaurants will likely see the riders, their support staffs and a larger media contigent in town than in year’s past.

The field for this year’s race features some of cycling’s best and brightest, including a star-laden Discovery Channel team looking to have a big year. The Tour de Georgia is an invitation only event and the biggest teams in the world would all like to be a part of it, using it as a launch-pad for the rest of the season and a litmus test for where their riders are in comparison with other cyclists.

“We select teams based on last year’s results and results from this season thus far among other things, so that we can get the best possible riders that are out there,” said Birrell, who added that finding strong contenders and U.S riders was also very important to the race.

This year’s race is different than in year’s past because it has an extra day of racing and this year’s event finishes with a seven mile circuit race in downtown Atlanta.

“It is huge to finish in downtown Atlanta,” Birell said. “This is like the tour’s version of finishing on the Champs-Elysées.” The city of Atlanta saw the success of the Tour de Georgia and asked to be a part of the race. Medalist Sports, the Mayor’s office and the Atlanta Police Department then created a great route, highlighting the diversity downtown and giving the Tour what is sure to be an exciting finish.

Medalist Sports isn’t just content with a seven day race. They would like to see more days added and would also like to see more of southern Georgia involved. There is even talk of making the race span two weekends. The sport of cycling has grown since the first Tour de Georgia and it continues to grow. Missouri and California saw how successful the Tour de Georgia was and wanted to host races as well. The team at Medalist Sports continues to see other areas want to get involved and that creates more interest in the sport, brings out more crowds and makes some of the cyclists household names. The work for the 2008 Tour de Georgia has already begun and this year’s race is how current races are formed and future host cities are found.

Birrell and Aronhalt are obviously enjoying having the offical start of the race so close to their homes, but there was no word on whether Peachtree City would be the official starting city beyond this year. Birrell did state that this year’s Stage 1 route is one of the prettiest the Tour has ever had.

“The riders pass so many great landscapes; Lake Peachtree, Starr’s Mill, an old fashioned church in downtown Brooks and then get on the Cherry Blossom Trail on their way to Macon. It’s just like a picture postcard of the state.”

The staff of Medalist Sports is obviously very busy and have been for quite a while, but they are excited about this year’s race and their excitement is contagious. They hope to see everyone out at the start of the race on Monday, Apr. 16 in Peachtree City.

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