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Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

James Burns: No Tour, but we have Merco

True story: As crews finished assembling the start line for Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California in February, and volunteer groups raced against the morning sun scribbling chalk messages on the asphalt, Michelle Byus leaned forward on her handlebars, looking to her left and right.

And then...

At 6:30 in the morning, she snuck out onto the downtown course, imagining she were Lance or Levi hugging turns.

She returned hours later with her son, Taylor, positioning themselves near the main stage along the rail. Front and center.

While I strolled the course, breathing in the sights and sounds, the two eagerly agreed to a short interview.

Excitement wouldn't begin to capture their emotions, or that of those around them.

It was as if a cargo plane filled with pixie dust sprinkled its load over the city that morning, because everyone was walking on air.

The Tour of California gave the city of Merced a $500,000 shot in the arm during a time when people are losing their jobs, their businesses, their homes, their retirement funds and savings and their sanity.

What's more, the Tour made Mercedians and residents of Merced County feel relevant again on a national scale. As if we were important. As if, for one day, we were the belle of the ball.

Young Taylor would get to see his idol, the unconquerable Lance Armstrong, in the flesh that day.

In turn, Michelle would get to see her son glow brighter than a halogen light bulb.

Conventional wisdom suggests that those good-time feelings and cash revenues will fall by the wayside now that the Tour has decided not to return to Merced in 2010.

The National Parks Service put the kibosh on an epic alpine climb into Yosemite proposed by local cycling experts Doug Fluetsch and Steven Hale, care of the city of Merced.

The stage would have started in Merced, featured climbs over Marshes Flat, Priests Grade and into Yosemite Valley, with a finish line somewhere in the shadows of El Capitan.

In May, when the Valley weather borders on perfection, the ride would have been spectacular, like a hypercolored Ansel Adams.

But the federal government said no, standing by its rules and mandates.

So the Tour looked elsewhere, keeping a Modesto finish and adding a Visalia-to-Bakersfield run.

Whatever.

What's done is done.

But where there are rain clouds there usually is a rainbow.

And if Fluetsch is right, and the city gets on board as it did in February for the Tour, this rainbow could yield a sizable pot of gold waiting at the end.

With the Tour pushed back to May, the Merco Cycling Classic in March becomes an early season focal point for American cycling teams.

Fluetsch, the longtime organizer of the event, has ratcheted up next year's ride, offering six days of racing in a 10-day span.

Velo Promo will sponsor three days of racing in advance of Merco, which has added a team time trial. A rare competition for U.S. events.

"It's bait," he said. "It reinforces the concept of a team training camp."

The volume of racing and its proximity to the Tour in May, combined with Merced's unique access to mountain climbs and open-road pedaling, will make this area the No. 1 training facility in February and March.

And if you've ever sent a kid away to camp, you know how hefty the pricetag can be.

Lodging. Cha-ching!

Food. Cha-ching!

Activities, shopping, travel and other expenditures. Cha-cha-cha-ching!

Merco's projected financial ceiling in 2010 far surpasses that of this year's Tour stop.

It might not have the international appeal of the Tour, but Merco should still attract the Leipheimers and Horners of the racing world.

In February, that just wasn't possible because the two events were scheduled on back-to-back weekends.

"We still had a good draw, but the problem for U.S.-based cycling clubs is that it's hard for them to look beyond the Tour," Fluetsch said. "We were the first weekend after.

"There was no chance of having them come and stay in Merced for any length of time. Now they'll plan training camps. It opens the door."

True story.

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.