Cycling Event Could Bring 3,000 to Saline in May

The city of Saline will host a bike race May 14 and play a big part in a weekend of cycling May 13-15 in Washtenaw County.

The Tour of Washtenaw, planned for Saturday, May 14, will start and finish in Saline. There is a 65-mile course for serious amateurs and a 100-mile event planned for professionals or elite cyclists.

On May 13, there will be many local outreach events at various Washtenaw County locations, a kids tour ride at 6 p.m. in Ann Arbor and a pro criterium at 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor. A pro criterium is a bike race held on a short course, often on blocked-off city streets.

The Tour of Washtenaw will begin at 9 a.m. on North Ann Arbor Street, just north of downtown Saline. The race will finish on South Ann Arbor and Henry streets.

For more recreational riders, there is a “cycle for health” bike marathon from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday in Ann Arbor.

Mayor Gretchen Driskell and City Manager Todd Campbell have been in talks with Anthem Sports and Cycle of Health to bring the event to Saline.

“I think it will be a terrific event that will bring a lot of people to Saline, and I would hope it would become an annual event,” Driskell said.

The event is one of many that Anthem Sports and Cycle For Health, a charitable organization founded to combat childhood obesity, have scheduled in the country for 2011. The largest event, the Tour of the Battenkill in April in New York, is expected to attract 3,000 participants from more than 40 states and 20 countries. Already, more than 2,500 people have registered for the event.

Dieter Drake of Anthem Sports said it's tough to predict how many people will take part in the Tour of Washtenaw, but he’s hoping for between 750 and 1,000 in May.

Drake said the Ann Arbor-Saline area is a great location for a Midwest event.

“The Saline-Ann Arbor area has the perfect combination of metropolitan, country and small-town feel in a fairly compact area,” he said. “The city of Saline could not be much better of a place to host a large cycling event with its community-minded people and businesses.”

Mayor Pro Tem Brian Marl said he was told that each cyclist brings an average of 2.2 people with him or her to the race. So with as many as 1,000 people expected to participate in the event, Saline’s businesses could see an influx of 3,000 people for the day, he said.

There will be an expo area set up in the South Ann Arbor Street parking lot. “I think this is an economic development opportunity,” Marl said.

The race is officially a "go." Right now, the most pressing need is finding a group of volunteers to help with the event, but Drake said he is not concerned about being able to fill those gaps.

“It looks like the energy level and enthusiasm in Saline is just incredible," he said.