3-Day Cycling Stage Race Comes To Woodstock, Ball Ground

WOODSTOCK, GA, -- After five years of hosting its three-day festivities in Gainesville, organizers behind the Tour of the Southern Highlands Stage Race decided it was time to make a change.

The result? The only Pro/Am stage race will take place in Ball Ground and Woodstock in 2017.

“We are excited to have new partners in Woodstock and Ball Ground to continue to build a legendary stage race in Georgia, offering challenging courses and amazing fields, while continuing our tradition promoting growth in racing, especially junior’s and women’s racing," said Race Director Nathan O'Neill. "These two cities are active and progressive cities, and they absolutely exhibit the qualities we know are important to the growth and accessibility of cycling."

Over the past five years, former professional cyclist, Nathan O’Neill and his partner, Betty Hodges, have developed the Tour of the Southern Highlands into a major stage race on the cycling calendar for the southeast.

After outgrowing its previous five-year location, organizers worked for nearly seven months to find the "ideal partnerships and locations to move forward and continue to grow," Dingo Race Productions, LLC, the company behind the event, said in its press release.

Woodstock and Ball Ground expressed an interest in picking up that partnership, "capitalizing on existing road rider terrain, as well as the potential for event growth and regional economic impact for years to come," organizers said.

“We have an active built-in cycling community in Woodstock and surrounding areas, and bringing a national cycling race to our community is a natural fit for locals and visitors,” said Woodstock City Manager Jeff Moon.

The event begins Friday, March 3, 2017, with a Professional Criterium for both men and women in downtown Woodstock. Frequently described as “NASCAR on bicycles,” the criterium will feature vendors, live music, kid’s bicycle races, a fat tire criterium and more,

On Saturday, March, 4, the amateurs will join the action alongside the pros for a Merckx Time Trial and a Circuit Race. Then, an epic road race with over 7,000 feet of climbing around the Ball Ground community concludes the racing on Sunday, March 5.

“The city of Ball Ground is known for superior road cycling by many advocates, and we look forward to being part of this exciting event in 2017, along with Woodstock and Cherokee County,” added Ball Ground City Manager Eric Wilmarth.

The three-day event is already attracting attention from many top race teams, and has been added to the calendar of the U.S. Junior National Team as a team selection race.

The 2017 Tour of the Southern Highlands seeks volunteers for several positions during the event as well as local citizens who are interested in opening their homes and hosting visiting athletes during the race week. Accommodations are needed for the numerous riders, coaches and support staff that will flood the region.

Those interested in volunteering or hosting visiting athletes should contact Co-Race Director Betty Hodges at 512-844-6383. For more information about the Tour of the Southern Highlands, visit the event's website.

Image via Dingo Race Productions, LLC