Course announced for the US Pro Championships

USA Cycling announced the courses for its profession championships to be held in early September. The race, which will crown the national champions in both time trial and road race, will be held in Greenville, South Carolina again, and will take place on similar courses as last year's championship.

The 32.4 kilometre time trial course will be the same challenging and technical route that CSC's David Zabriskie road to victory, beginning at The Cliffs at Mountain Park and ending at The Cliffs Valley. Zabriskie is expected to defend his title."I will be back to defend the national time trial championships. The course is very challenging because of the technical aspects of it, so I have to take it very serious in order to do well," said Zabriskie, a time trial specialist who finished second in the Time Trial World Championships last year.

The road race Championships, now in its 23rd season, will be contested on a slightly shorter course this year of 177 kilometres. Current champion George Hincapie is expected to defend his road race title, which will include four laps over the famed Paris Mountain.

"It was great to have the entire U.S. cycling scene in my backyard and see firsthand why I live in Greenville. I am looking forward to racing in front of my family and friends again and I can only hope that I could repeat my performance from 2006. Obviously anything less is going to seem like a disappointment," said Discovery Channel's Hincapie, who is a two-time winner of the Professional Road Race Championship (1998 and 2006).

The field for the USA Cycling Professional Championships will be announced in August. Additional spectator events are being planned, such as a health and wellness expo, public concert, and the "Stars and Stripes Challenge" fundraising bicycle ride on September 2.

Route maps and details for each professional race can be found at the official web site, www.usacyclingchampionships.com. In addition, the web site offers online volunteer registration and hospitality tickets for purchase. While admission to both races is free for spectators, there are fees for hospitality passes. The Hospitality is open from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (tickets available for purchase on-line)