by: Justin Smith
The Tour of Utah professional bicycle race will pass through Provo on Thursday giving BYU students a chance to serve as volunteers along the route.
Cyclists who are participating in the six-day race will be pushing one leg of the race up University Avenue from Springville to the shops at Riverwoods passing campus. Student volunteers can lend their expertise and time in a variety of positions along the race and behind the scenes. Volunteers will receive an up-close view of the race and a free official race T-shirt.
“They will literally be riding right past campus,” Camellia Rowland, co-director of volunteers said in an email. “We’d love to have BYU students come out and support the race.”
The Tour of Utah is comprised of more than 100 of the world’s best cyclists, measured on climbing, sprinting and miles per hour. The six-day, six-stage professional bicycle road race runs along the Rocky Mountain’s Wasatch range. It covers more than 400 miles of racing, and competitors visit from all around the world to compete.
The Tour of Utah is one of many professional races that take place internationally each year.
“I remember when the Tour de France rode through my city when I lived in Brussels Belgium,” said Michelle Smith, a junior studying business management. “It was really exciting to be a part of a professional race and to see the riders cruise past. I would love to see another race.”
Volunteers can sign up to help on Thursday by visiting tourofutah.com/volunteer. Volunteers may serve as course marshals, security, media operations, spectator marketing or one of many other open positions. Course marshals are staged at intersections, cross walks and other key locations along the race to direct traffic and make sure the race passes smoothly.
“With the Tour of Utah being elevated from a national event to an international stage race this year, we want to make sure that we put on the best event in North America for the world of cycling,” said Karen Weiss, executive director of the Tour of Utah. “This means continuing to count on the tremendous support of our volunteers. We appreciate their enthusiasm and commitment in the past and ask everyone to make a commitment to at least one day of racing this year.”
