Tour de Tysons Race Returns as Locals Look Toward More Bicycle-Friendly Future

After a three-year hiatus, the Tour de Tysons Grand Prix Bicycle Race returned Sunday, attracting hundreds of bicyclists in an effort to encourage a walkable, bikeble community as the area develops into the "new downtown."

This year the event was put on by the National Capital Velo Club, along with fellow sponsors Kaiser Permanente, PS Business Parks and the Tysons Partnership, a group of citizens, business leaders and developers overseeing the area's transformation.

As part of the walkable, multi-use vision for the future city — including the four new Silver Line Metro stations slated to open in late 2013 or early 2014 — the partnership is also aiming to make Tysons Corner more bicycle-friendly, leaders say. And Sunday's race was part of that goal. 

Michael Caplin, executive director of the Tysons Partnership, said the partnership reached out to the Velo Club to host the race after its three-year hiatus from the area as a way to bring together the area's biking community and promote Tysons as bike-friendly.

Watch Caplin and highlights of the race in the video above.

Caplin said Tysons is just beginning the early stages of a 10-year process of transforming into a bike-friendly community. He noted bike paths have been charted out across the city in all directions, and they will be built over time as developments are completed.

The partnership has also made plans to install bike racks throughout the area, along with bike lanes and sidewalks adjacent to most roads in the city for riders to travel safely. 

Local bicyclists have worried about safe pedestrian access to the four Silver Line stations for both walkers and bikers, particularly from areas like upper Vienna and McLean, where there aren't many existing routes to travel.

"It will get better and better every single year," Caplin said, though he noted  it will be several years before the area's bike-friendliness is "past-proficient."

One of the first stages in encouraging cyclists to ride into Tysons is to grow the bicycle community, Caplin said, which is why Tour de Tysons returned this year.

William Luecke, of the National Capital Velo Club, said participants in the event's many divisions, organized by age and skill level, come from 50-75 miles away to compete in the races. But bringing a cycling event into the heart of Tysons did encourage other riders to come share in the event. Caplin said some people arrived at the race course as early as 6:30 a.m. just to ride laps around the course.

He hopes this will show riders the city can be a welcoming place.

"We want bicycles to feel welcome in Tysons," Caplin said, "and this bicycle race is a way of showing what fun it can be and how much community support there is."