Steeped in history and with its hilly, winding stone-lined roads and historic town centers, can New England become the epicenter of American cycling? Five New England race promoters hope so.

Race promoters from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire have formed an association to co-promote five races over one week, June 28th – July 6th. George Gantz, president of Fitchburg Cycling Club, which puts on the venerable Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, started talking about the idea a couple of years ago.

“It just made sense for us to work together. By coordinating our race schedules it hopefully makes it easier and more economical for teams and riders to come to New England, while generating more local interest and excitement in the sport of cycling,” commented Gantz. “We have also put up for grabs omnium series points for pro men and women and an award for anyone that completes all 8-days of racing, regardless of their placing.”

The week starts fittingly with a kids-only race in Wilmington, Massachusetts, hosted by NEBC on the morning of June 28th, but then moves into full swing with the Cox Charities Cycling Classic in the heart of downtown Providence, RI. It is a one-mile criterium that includes Masters 35+/45+, 23 miles; Category 2/3, 28 miles and Men Pro/1, 50 miles. Race Director Gary Dalton predicts a great turnout for this national NRC event and the fantastic Water Fire show which follows.

The very next day, June 29th, a new venue has been added, the Boloco Heartbreak Hill Grand Prix, a circuit race where cyclists will race up the Boston Marathon’s infamous “Heartbreak Hill,” in Newton, MA. Race Director J. Alain Ferry expects more than 1,400 competitors for this fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Racing shifts to Connecticut on June 30th with a Twilight Criterium, which will run on a half-mile race track in Thompson, Connecticut. Hosted by Minuteman Road Club, the event will benefit Cystic Fibrosis research.

On July 1st, racers head to the Granite state to ride in the Exeter Criterium, the 26th annual, in historic and picturesque downtown Exeter, NH, a fund-raiser for the Barrows/Bogart/Bemis Cycling Scholarship at the University of New Hampshire. Cheering crowds line the roads for the one-hour evening races for Men and Women Pro/1/2/3.

And racing heads back to Massachusetts with the grand daddy of them all, the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. Celebrating its 49th year, the four-day stage race includes eight separate categories and over $51,000 in prize money. Over the four days the Pro Men cyclists test themselves on a 6.2-mile time trial, a 78-mile circuit race and a 104-mile road race, finishing with a 50-mile criterium before cheering crowds in the heart of historic Fitchburg, MA.

The Fitchburg Longsjo Classic serves as a legacy for the history of cycling and the memory of Art Longsjo, a Fitchburg native and the first American to compete in the winter and summer Olympics in the same year, and as a fundraiser for local youth fitness programs including the Boys and Girls Club and for its charity partner, the Pan Mass Challenge, benefiting the Dana Farber Cancer Center.
To learn more about New England Raceweek, which is sponsored by Acquia and SugarCRM, visit www.newenglandraceweek.com.

Acquia, www.acquia.com, is a software company that provides value-added software products and services for the Drupal social publishing system. SugarCRM, www.sugarcrm.com, is the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software for companies of all sizes.