The City of Marion and CDH Venture Group will host the Marion Classic presented by The Cellular Connection, www.marionclassic.com, the state’s largest professional cycling event on August 8-9, 2008 in Marion, Indiana.  

The event is comprised of two days of amateur, community and professional bicycle racing surrounded by a family friendly festival atmosphere.  The Marion Classic offers free admission for spectators to enjoy Marion’s first professional sporting event.     

“We are very excited for the City of Marion to host such a premier bicycle race in Indiana,” said Wayne Seybold, Mayor of Marion. “This is an opportunity for our community to host a professional sporting event and allow spectators to enjoy not only Marion’s largest community event, but Indiana’s largest competitive bicycle race sanctioned by USA Cycling.” 

The Marion Classic professional bicycle race is sanctioned by USA Cycling (the principle governing body for cycling in the United States) as a United States Cycling Federation (USCF) event.  Top professional and elite amateur cycling teams will compete for $15,000 in prize money, while another $5,000 will be distributed among the amateur races.  Indiana-based AeroCat Bicycles, www.aerocatbike.com, will also offer a Carbon ACR500 frameset as a sprint prize for the top racers.  The size of the prize list and the range of community activities that surround the event make the Marion Classic one of the top 50 bicycle races in the United States.  A complete technical guide, including course profiles and event schedules, is available at www.marionclassic.com. 

“Cycling in Indiana as well as the across the nation, continues to grow in popularity.  We are pleased to have such a wonderful venue to host the race and appreciate the support of the community, the sponsors and of course the fantastic race teams that comprise the race roster,” said Chase Hoefer, Race Director. 

Confirmed riders for the professional race include 2008 UCI World Track Champion Hayden Godfrey of New Zealand, 2008 Tour of Ohio winner Matt Winstead, and United States Collegiate National Champions Bennet van der Genugten and Tom Hanley.  A complete listing of the professional race teams and elite amateur cycling teams registered for the race will be published on the event website at www.marionclassic.com. 

“I am proud and thankful of our corporate community and the citizens of Marion and Grant County who have stepped up to made this event possible,” stated Mayor Seybold.  “We have a lot of positives things happening in and around Marion, and the Marion Classic bike race is an example of how our community comes together to make things work and key events like this have the potential to provide a positive economic impact for our city.”  

In tandem with the Marion Classic cycling event, spectators will be entertained by several bands playing live music throughout the day during the Riverwalk Music Festival.   The bands will play between bike races and will offer a full concert featuring Marion talent Aaron Moses, www.myspace.com/aaronmosesmusic, and Nashville-based Daniel Gibson, www.danielgibsonmusic.com, immediately after the final cycling race.

In addition to the professional and elite amateur bike races, the Marion Classic hosts two community bike events – the Citizen Criterium and the Fat Tire Relay Race.  Both events are open to the public and no pre-registration is required.  The Fat Tire Relay is purely for fun and entertainment, while the Citizen Criterium event allows individuals in the community the opportunity to experience a race course that mirrors a competitive race.  A $10 day of registration entry fee will be collected with money raised designated to the charity, World Hope International, to purchase bicycles for the AIDS caregivers in the village of Muziya in Zambia.  The Fat Tire Relay Race starts at 7:00 p.m. August 8^th and the Citizen Criterium begins at 2:55 p.m. August 9^th.   Registration is near the Start/Finish line and closes 15 minutes prior to each event start time.

“We are very excited about the public bike events,” said Elijah Elkins, Indiana Wesleyan University student and World Hope International local volunteer.  “It is a great way for the community to get involved, have fun and help us raise needed funds that we can share with World Hope and demonstrate compassion throughout the world!”                          

The Marion Classic is presented by The Cellular Connection, www.ecellularconnection.com, and the sponsoring USCF Club U-Built-It / MOB Squad, www.mobsquadcycling.net.  Marion Classic community partners include WIWU TV, Marion General Hospital, WBAT Radio, the Chronicle-Tribune and the City of Marion.  Curfman’s Cycling & Fitness is also sponsoring a $700 road bike giveaway as part of a free community raffle.  For a complete list of sponsors, community support and additional event information please visit www.marionclassic.com.