The heady days of Ireland's Nissan Classic came to mind Tuesday when Sean Kelly was the subject of a photo shoot before the first International Tour of Ireland was announced in Dublin Castle. The new five-day stage race will take place in late August, starting this year, with major sponsorship from Fáilte Ireland, the country's national tourism development authority.

The race is being organized by The Event Group of race director Alan Rushton, in association with Shade Tree Sports' Darach McQuaid, the project director. BMW will supply a fleet of 75 vehicles for the race, and Tipperary natural spring water will be an official sponsor.

Rushton, with then-partner Pat McQuaid (now president of the UCI), promoted eight editions of the Nissan Classic from 1985 to 1992, four of which were won by Kelly. Until the sponsorship ended 15 years ago, "the Nissan" was regarded as one of European cycling's most popular events by riders, spectators and media alike.

The new Tour will showcase Ireland's stunning scenery, with the first edition, August 22-26, taking the riders to the beautiful south and west coasts, with stages ending in Cork, Killarney, Ennis, Galway and Dublin (see details below). The first stage passes through Kelly's hometown of Carrick-on-Suir.

"We're all really excited to be able to undertake the event this year and we'd really like to thank Fáilte Ireland for coming on board," said Rushton. "This will be one of the sporting highlights of the year [in Ireland] where the atmosphere is sure to be electric."

An estimated 126 riders in some 20 professional teams will compete in the inaugural race, which has a UCI European Tour 2.1 rating. All of the current Irish professionals are expected to take part, including Philip Duignam and Nicolas Roche (of French team Crédit Agricole), David McCann (of U.S.-based Colavita-Sutter Home), David O'Loughlin and Ciarán Power (of U.S.-based Navigators Insurance), current Irish road race champion Paul Griffin (of Giant Asia) and the Ireland-based Murphy and Gunn team. The roster will also include other major European pro teams.

The race will be televised live by the national network, RTE, with repeat highlights each evening presented by Irish TV personality Jimmy McGee and British commentator Phil Liggett. Extensive coverage is planned across Europe, in Britain, Australia, South Africa and Japan, For North American viewers, Versus (formerly OLN) is committed to major programming.

"This event will provide an ideal opportunity to showcase Ireland to an international audience," said John O'Donoghue, Ireland's minister for arts, sport and tourism. "Cycling holiday-makers represent a significant niche market and Ireland, with its diverse countryside and spectacular scenery, has much to offer our cycling visitors."

Aqu, Inc., organizers of The Tour of America, a coast-to-coast professional stage race, on Thursday announced revised dates and a tentative route for its inaugural event.

Based upon feedback from racers, professional racing organizing bodies, the media and supporters, the tour has been shortened to 21 stages covering approximately 2200 miles (more than 3500 km) and scheduled for September 6-28, 2008.

The tour will start in New York's Central Park and travel through 18 states before finishing in Palo Alto, California. Cities along the race's route include New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Denver, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Napa, Santa Rosa and Palo Alto.

Twenty-five teams will be invited to compete for a prize purse of $10 million.

Frank Arokiasamy, Aqu's president, originally announced the event during a press conference at the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. As originally conceived, the race would have covered 4000 miles with 27 stages during 30 days of competition.

"The overwhelming response showed there was an interest and a need for a Tour de France-style race here in the United States. Based on the feedback from everyone, we realized our first plans were perhaps too ambitious and that the original race schedule didn't fit within standard racing protocols," Arokiasamy said.

"To ensure the race would attract the best international racing teams and the support of both cycling enthusiasts and sports fans alike, we've modified the race schedule and route to its current form."

"Our goal is to make this race happen in September 2008," Arokiasamy added. "There is a lot to accomplish between now and then. With help and cooperation of host cities, racers, bicycle-racing enthusiasts and potential sponsors, we can make it happen."

For more information, see www.aqusports.com.