If organizers and media partners have their way, the City of Reading and surrounding Berks County will host the first annual Reading Radsport, a series of challenging bike rides that will attract thousands of recreational and competitive cyclists to the area in August 2012.

Organized by the Pro Cycling Tour, owners of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship, and driven by WEEU radio and Reading Eagle Newspaper/ Reading Eagle Company, and WFMZ Channel 69, the Reading Radsport is designed as a cycling festival that will feature bike rides of varying lengths from 20 to 90 miles on scenic routes around Reading as well as a concert and “Taste of Reading” food festival promoting local restaurants.

That’s music to the ears of Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, himself a cycling enthusiast: “Ever since Reading lost the popular Reading Classic Triple Crown bike race, we’ve wanted to establish an annual cycling event that will bring cycling enthusiasts to our city,”  he said. “As an annual weekend summer event, we see this as a significant boost to tourism and exposure for our city and the Greater Reading region.”

According to Pro Cycling Tour president, David Chauner, the success of the inaugural Reading Radsport is, in part, contingent upon corporate sponsorship supported by enthusiastic media to spread the word.  “WEEU radio and Reading Eagle Newspaper/ Reading Eagle Company, and WFMZ Channel 69 and their websites all get behind big community events and we will be working with them to create real value for event sponsors,” Chauner said.  He added that the cycling community is growing significantly and that there is increasing demand across the country to provide events that welcome the casual cyclist as well as racers and “weekend warriors”. 

To that end, Pro Cycling Tour has hired a senior project manager, Franzi Petermann from Germany to help grow the Reading Radsport into a significant world class event with international exposure.  Her experience includes managing Germany’s Vattenfall Cyclassics, an annual cycling event that has become one of the biggest in the world with 22,000 participants.  Included in the plan is to invite cyclists from Reading’s sister city, Reutlingen, Germany, to participate.

 “I don’t see any reason why we can’t grow the Reading Radsport into a huge event that draws at least 2,000 participants to Greater Reading in its first year,” said Dave Kline, President & General Manager of WEEU Radio and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Reading Eagle Newspaper / Reading Eagle Company and one of the event’s most enthusiastic media partners.  “Reading’s small city atmosphere and the great cycling roads in surrounding Berks County is the combination that will attract cyclists from all over.”

Watch for information updates on www.procyclingtour.com.