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Posted on Tue, Mar 22, 2011 : 4:30 p.m.

Tour of Washtenaw bicycle race set to ride through Saline this spring

By Lisa Allmendinger

The Tour of Washtenaw Race and Expo cycling event will make its first stop in Saline on May 14.

By a unanimous vote of the Saline City Council on Monday night, Anthem Sports of Cambridge, N.Y., was given the go-ahead for the event that is expected to bring several thousand people into the city.

Dieter Drake, the organizer of the event, also holds a race in New York called Tour of the Battenkill, according to information provided about the event.

“This is intended to be the first of an annual race,” said Councilman David Rhoads. “I believe it will bring nothing but good to the city.”

There will be 15 segments to the race to accommodate everyone from pure beginners to professionals, said Art Trapp, Saline’s downtown development director. The segments will be set up depending on the age, gender and agility of the bicyclists. The first race is scheduled for 11 a.m., with other segments starting at 10-minute intervals.

The event is scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. “It will be fun, and several thousand people will be in Saline for the day and our downtown merchants will benefit,” Rhoads said.

Trapp called it a “fluid event,” as details are still being set. Already, the event has gone from a three-day event to a two-day one because of planned road construction in Ann Arbor, he said.

Organizers plan to take the race to Ann Arbor on its second day.

Trapp is looking for 120 volunteers and currently he has 60 to 70 people committed to assist the New York organizers with the event. In fact, he said, if community groups would like to get involved, the organizers are offering daily stipends for their help.

Anthem Sports will pay about $3,200 in application fees for city services, including police and public works time, portable toilets, and electricity.

In addition, the Saline Downtown Merchants Association will have a beer and wine tent in parking lot No. 4, behind Brecon Grille, in conjunction with an expo that will have bike- and health-related vendors, refreshments and kids activities, according to a memo from Trapp.

The Downtown Merchants will pay about $370 for beer tent set-up costs.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Saline stories, visit our Saline page.