The courses for the '15 UCI Road World Cycling Championships were unveiled yesterday, "outlining the downtown Richmond streets that some of the world’s best cyclists will navigate during the nine-day event," according to Brandon Parker of the WASHINGTON POST. The event "is one of three legs, along with the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, that make up the Triple Crown of Cycling." Next year will mark "just the second time" in UCI's 82-year history that a U.S. city will host the event, following Colorado Springs in '86 (WASHINGTON POST, 2/26). Richmond 2015 COO Tim Miller, whose group is organizing and marketing the event, said that the race roads "will be closed during the events, with designated controlled-crossing intersections." He added that the races "will start after the morning rush hour and finish before the evening rush hour." Miller said that security planning for the event "hadn't started until after the bombing at the Boston Marathon" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/26). In Richmond, Paul Woody writes it is "hard to say" whether the race will bring in the projected 450,000 fans. Europeans "love their cycling, but Richmond isn’t as close as the Netherlands and Italy, where the past two World Championships were held, or Spain," where the '14 championships will take place. Miller said, "We think a lot of people will view this as a reason to come to America, see some of the races and check out the Blue Ridge Mountains or Washington or New York." But Moody writes Richmond "needs a tangible reminder the World Championships were here." The legacy for the region "needs to include more people using bicycles for exercise, transportation and simple enjoyment" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/26).
