Pro Cyclists to Line Up in Virginia
Tour of Shenandoah Begins April 25th

Harrisonburg, VA – In less than one week from now, several of North America’s top cycling pros and some of the best under-25 riders will descend upon the beautiful Shenandoah Valley to test their mettle against each other on one of the toughest stage race courses in the country. 

Beginning on April 25th and finishing on May 30th, the six-day, seven-stage Tour of Shenandoah will blaze through the often mountainous and always scenic roads of  Central Virginia. 

The Shenandoah Valley region is quickly gaining recognition as a cycling paradise.  Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine recently named Tour of Shenandoah host city of Harrisonburg one of 32 “Epic Rides” in the U.S.

Here are a few teams and individuals you can expect to “ride epically” at the 2006 Tour of Shenandoah:

Team Volkswagen/VW  What are pro mountain bikers doing at a road race?  They are planning to completely dominate Tour of Shenandoah’s infamously leg-pounding mountains, that’s what. 

Harrisonburg native, Jeremiah Bishop is the obvious local favorite.  As a Pan Am Games Gold Medalist, 7-Time Member of the USA National Team, Bishop, 30, has proven his worthiness on dirt.  However, an impressive 5th overall and two third place stage finishes at the 2005 Tour of Shenandoah reveal the inner-roadie lurking within this seasoned fat-tire guru.

Bishop’s teammate, Chris Eatough, is equally likely to grab a podium spot.  Eatough, 31, has established himself as a legend in what must be the most physically brutal way to make a living in all of sport—24 Hour endurance mountain bike racing.  Many compare Eatough’s six year domination of international 24-Hour mountain bike racing  to Lance Armstrong’s winning streak at Le Tour.  He definitely has the internal engine to compete on skinny wheels, but Eatough will need to make adjustments to handle the several hours of rest and sleep between daily stages. 

Team R.A.C.E.  The name stands for Race Against Cancer Everywhere.  Primarily a U-25 team, Team R.A.C.E. grooms Canada’s young cyclists for international competitions and the Olympics. 

R.A.C.E. is sending four athletes.  Keep an eye out for Ryan Roth to make a run for the U-25 title.  Roth is the U-23 National Road Champion and ITT silver medalist from the Canadian Championships in 2005.  Roth’s cycling resume also boasts an overall win plus two stage wins at the Elliot Lake Stage Race in Ontario.

Roth and his young teammates will find inspiration from their coach and mentor, Steve Bauer.  One of two Canadians ever to wear the Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France.  Bauer placed 4th overall and won a stage at the 1988 Tour de France.  A true cycling great, he raced with Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond on the famed La Vie Claire, considered by experts as one of the best teams in the history of cycling.  Bauer won silver in the cycling road race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and competed well at the Tour DuPont, the predecessor race of the Tour of Shenandoah. 

Team AEG – Toshiba – JetNetwork  Consistently ranked alongside the likes of Health Net and Discovery Channel, AEG – Toshiba – JetNetwork is one of the country’s top teams.  Headquartered in Athens, Georgia, the team is sending an international squad, with riders hailing from the U.S., Canada, and, most notably, Serbia:

Predrag Prokic, 24, is from Belgrade, Serbia and now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Prokic is the under-23 Balkan Champion 2003, and placed 8th in the Tour of Greece.

Fellow Serbian, Viktor Laza is the 1999 Yugoslavian Junior National Champion Road and Criterium.  He also placed third in the UCI World Junior Points Classification that same year.  In 2005, Laza won the South Carolina Championships.

Team LSV/Kelly Benefit Solutions  Not only is this Baltimore, Maryland’s premiere cycling team, but LSV/Kelly Benefit Solutions is one of the best elite amateur teams in the eastern U.S.

Matt Cooke competed all over the world as a pro triathlete for three years before focusing on cycling.  Spending more time on the bike has suited him well.  The climbing specialist won the GC at the Tour of Ohio last year.  He started off the 2006 season in similar sizzling style by winning the Usery Road Race in Phoenix, AZ by out-sprinting riders from Toyota-United, Jelly Belly, and TIAA-Cref.  Afterwards, Cooke swung south of the border where he placed ninth overall in the Vuelta Sonora-Arizona, the highest place for an American finisher.

Nick Waite spends time on the UCI Mountain Bike circuit. He has raced for the U.S. National Road Mountain Bike Teams in Europe and is the 2001 Junior National Mountain Bike Champion.  Of course, the road beckons Waite too.   He has competed in the Tour de Georgia and finished 14 at the Rhond L’Isard Stage Race in the Pyrenees of Southern France in 2005.  This year, Waite finished 2nd at the Jeff Cup in Charottesville, West Virginia, just getting pipped on the line by Toyota-United rider Bobby Lea. 

Team Right-Aid  Formerly Snow Valley, this marks the first year for the team with the new title sponsor.  The team’s talented roster is comprised exclusively of American riders, save for one highly remarkable Canadian named Zach Bell.

Bell, a Watson Lake, a Yukon native, is the 2004 and 2005 Canadian National Pursuit Champion.  The 23-year-old sprinting buff is a nine-time Canadian National Medalist and two-time Tour of Delta Stage Winner and Course record holder.

An important mission of the 2006 Tour of Shenandoah is to inform the public about how to control or prevent the onset of diabetes and its complications, through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Established by former Category 1 cyclist, Matt Butterman, who is a Type 1 diabetic, the race features the participation of several elite cyclists who successfully deal with the dual challenges of Type 1 diabetes and top-level cycling competition. The Official Charity Partner of the 2006 Tour of Shenandoah is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, who will use the press coverage and publicity surrounding the Tour of Shenandoah to highlight its own fundraising efforts in the quest to find a cure for diabetes. Visit www.tourofshenandoah.com

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