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| Troy Lerwill (pictured here) receiving a Payson High School Distinguished Alumnus award. Troy and wife, Kirsten, have been chosen to serve as ancillary members of a local committee now overseeing projects associated with Payson's role as a tour stop during the summer's Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. |
Preparations are underway in Payson,
since the city was named a stop for the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.
City Manager Dave Tuckett reported during a recent city council
meeting that a committee comprised of community members is already
under construction.
“It looks like it's going to be a
good committee,” he said. Among them, noted Mr. Tuckett, are local
Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) entertainer, Troy
Lerwill and wife, Kirsten, who will serve as ancillary members.
The 2013 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah will begin Monday, August 5
with opening festivities in Cedar City, and continue across the state
for six days of racing, Tuesday, August 6 to Sunday, August 11. It
continues for a third consecutive year as one of the top professional
cycling events in North America, a 2.1-rated stage race sanctioned by
the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale). Last year seven of the total
17 teams competed earlier in the year at the Tour de France. Known as
“America’s Toughest Stage RaceTM”, the Tour of Utah featured
38,500 feet of climbing over the 543 miles covered in six days in
2012.
Spanning almost the entire length of the state, the Tour of Utah will
begin in southern red rock country near world-famous Bryce Canyon
National Park. It will finish among the alpine peaks of the Wasatch
Front in northern Utah. The state is home to five National Parks and
seven National Monuments; the Tour of Utah will have host venues near
four of these natural treasures, three in the south and one to the
north. Three Utah ski resorts will host either a stage start or a
stage finish. The week of competition will include five road races
and one circuit race. Detailed routes and race mileage will be
announced in the coming months.
Stage Three will bridge the central region of Utah in Richfield with
Payson in the Utah Valley to the north. Richfield is the
largest city in south-central Utah, nestled in the high desert of
Sevier County. This mile-high city marks the midway point in mileage
between Cedar City and Salt Lake City. Surrounded by the beauty of
the Fishlake National Forest, Richfield is an outdoor recreation
heaven. The Stage Three finish will take the Tour to the south side
of Utah Lake, where Payson rests in the shadows of the Wasatch Front.
The scenery in Payson has made this a popular location for the film
industry, as it was the location for “Footloose” and the
television series Touched by an Angel. The Tour has passed through
this section of the Provo-Orem metropolitan area in previous years,
but this is the first time it has hosted a stage finish.
The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah began as a three-day Thanksgiving
Point Stage Race & Cycling Festival over Memorial Day weekend in
2004. The Utah Cycling Partnership, owned by the Larry H. Miller
Group of Companies, purchased the event in 2007 and re-launched the
cycling event in 2008 as a five-day National Racing Calendar event.
In 2011, the Tour of Utah was elevated by the UCI to a 2.1-rated
stage race on the UCI America Tour. The race is also sanctioned by
USA Cycling, Inc.
The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah
continues to be free to all spectators, making professional cycling
one of the most unique pro sports in the world today. More than 2,000
volunteer positions will be filled over the course of the week, and
registration is available on the Tour’s web site,
www.tourofutah.com.
Additional Tour updates can be followed via Facebook, Twitter
andVimeo.
