First Tour of Arkansas bicycle race begins today

By Jeannie Stone

LITTLE ROCK — Chuck Gordon of Russellville saw a chance to attract tourism to the River Valley, plain and simple.

When neighbors Al and Ruth Narveson returned from a bike race in flat and hot Texas and talked about how superior the trails and scenery are in Arkansas, Gordon decided to sponsor a race in this state.

The ensuing Tri-Peaks Race enjoyed success during its five-year run with Olympic athletes descending upon the River Valley for a chance to train on terrains similar to European-style climbing.

This year, the Tri-Peaks is joining the long-standing Celebrity Classic in Fort Smith and morphs into the Tour of Arkansas, scheduled today through Sunday. It begins in downtown Russellville andends in downtown Van Buren. The grueling, four-day, 350-mile test of endurance lures top athletes from across the country and their fans to soak in the local flavor.

Gordon said the Tour of Arkansas has attracted teams from nine countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Columbia, Mexico, Norway, Spain and all over the United States.

“The cyclists come in and spend a certain amount of money here. This year, we’re trying to encourage spectators to make this event a vacation destination, because it’s fun to watch this race. Some of the world’s finest cyclists will be here. How often will you get to rub elbows with athletes of this caliber? And Arkansas is a neat place to visit,” Gordon said.

Gordon, who is a financial consultantwith Wachovia Securities in Russellville, is proud of the tour’s growth over the years. “The first year we had 70 athletes,” he said, “and last year we had between 300 and 400 participants.”

All totaled, the cyclists will climb 23,000 feet and make two mountain finishes.

When Gordon first appealed to the U.S. Cycling Committee to consider the Tri-Peaks challenge, the selling point of the race was that Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo and Petit Jean Mountain are the three highest elevations east of the Rockies and west of the Appalachians.

Joining the longer standing Celebrity Classic in Fort Smith has been a blessing to the coordinators of the Tri-Peaks, he said. “We reached a point where the Russellville cycling community was burned out. We really needed new blood because the event had grown so much. It takes a lot of work to put one of these events together,” Gordon said. “We had probably half as many volunteers as participants last year. The Celebrity Classic people are very organized. They’ve been doing this for 14 years.”

The Tour of Arkansas offers four stages this year: The Epic will start in downtown Russellville today, roll past Dover to the north and end up in Hector after traversing the Ozarks.

The Nebo challenge on Friday incorporates both Petit Jean Mountain and Mount Nebo for a strenuous day of peddling. The finish atop Nebo will be a feat for the cyclist - Bicycle Magazine includes Nebo as one of the toughest 100 finishes in America.

Day three will begin and end at the lodge situated on Arkansas’ highest point, Mount Magazine. The Magazine stage will wind down, around and back up the mountain for a total of 97.6 miles. Bicycle Magazine rates Mount Magazine as one of the 100 toughest climbs in America.

Day four is the traditional Celebrity Classic expanded to allow for the projected increase in participants and professional riders. The criterium is staged in the historic downtown area of Van Buren.

Word of mouth has improved the showing each year, Gordon said.

“Not to brag, but we put on a great race. We have great road service, great climbs and, best of all, low traffic.” However, Gordon said low traffic also has been the biggest challenge. “We have to increase our viewership,” he said.

Gordon said it’s not too late for people to volunteer to pass out water to the cyclists at designated points or to be marshals to help keep ensure the safety of the riders at all turns and intersections.

“Our event is an all volunteer staff,” Gordon continued. “It’s pretty much a small-time endeavor. We don’t have bigname national or even many state sponsors yet. CenturyTel is one of our strongest supporters, but we need to get more of those in order to pay for advertising. Our budget runsbetween $50,000 and $60,000 each year, and that includes the entry fees, which is a huge part of that. We’re a low-dollar event.”

Although professional cyclists will use this race for training purposes, there will be plenty of amateurs as well, Gordon said.

He said a team of young college professors come down from Minnesota every year. “They love the timing of the race, because their classes end the week before,” he said, adding that he and his wife, Pat, have gotten to know them over the years. “We’ve taken them floating down the Piney and hiking in the mountains.”

Elizabeth Birmingham, Gordon’s secretary, laughed. “Chuck will do just about darn near anything to promote the River Valley and make visitors feel welcome.”

The official Web site, www.tour-of-arkansas.com, features a spectator information packet that highlights points of interests along the race and lists links for visitors to access and even places to eat.

“It’s fun getting to know the kids,” Gordon said, referring to the large number of young contestants. “Last year my wife and I hosted a team from Columbia, and only one of the kids even knew a little English. Everyone else just nodded their heads and smiled.”

River Valley Ozark, Pages 67, 68 on 05/15/2008