PITTSBURGH, June 2, 2008 – Eight major Pittsburgh companies—five Fortune 500 corporations—will host international teams as part of a unique sponsorship for a six-day stage race in the United States, offering a prize list of $150,000, the world’s largest-ever purse for cyclists under age 25 that will be contested across the state of Pennsylvania later this month.
PITTSBURGH, June 2, 2008 – Eight major Pittsburgh companies—five Fortune 500 corporations—will host international teams as part of a unique sponsorship for a six-day stage race in the United States, offering a prize list of $150,000, the world’s largest-ever purse for cyclists under age 25 that will be contested across the state of Pennsylvania later this month.
Alcoa (Australia), BNY Mellon (Belgium), Kennametal (Canada), Lanxess (Germany), PNC (Dutch), Seagate (USA), the Hispanic Chamber (Argentina) and Westinghouse (South Africa) will hosts the international teams as they compete in the American Eagle Outfitters® Tour of Pennsylvania™, presented by Highmark Healthy High 5®. The Tour of Pennsylvania is a six-day stage race covering approximately 420 miles of Pennsylvania’s rolling hills and city streets from June 24 – June 29, 2008. The International Cycling Union has sanctioned the race.
The race will feature world-class cyclists under 25 years old, some of whom are expected to participate in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. Twenty teams of six riders each from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and the United States will compete.
The Tour of Pennsylvania is a signature event of Pittsburgh 250, the yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the naming of Pittsburgh. In addition to the race, Highmark Healthy High 5® Finish Line Festivals are planned in five of the six stage stops. The festivals, which are free and open to the community, are designed to provide fun and engaging activities for kids that promote health and wellness.
“Pittsburgh 250 is the perfect backdrop for the Tour of Pennsylvania,” said Jim Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer of the PNC Financial Services Group and chairman of the Pittsburgh 250 commission. “The race provides a unique occasion to celebrate the 250th anniversary of
Bedford, Ligonier and Pittsburgh, all communities through which the race will run and all of which were founded in a single year during the Forbes Campaign of the French and Indian War of 1758.”