North Star bike festival will return this summer
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Organizers have decided to hold the North Star Bicycle Festival again this summer despite the loss of the race's major sponsor two years ago.
The summer bike race attracts about 50,000 spectators and 250 professional bicyclists to the region. There are six races scheduled over five days from June 17-21.
Organizers earlier this year were weighing whether the annual event would be able to continue without the sponsorship of General Mills' Nature Valley brand, which supported the race between 2001 and 2013.
Executive Director David LaPorte said Tuesday that the festival has attracted enough sponsors to go forward, although organizers still need to raise about a quarter of the estimated $350,000 race cost.
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"Having more sponsors at a lower level is much more stable than having one sponsor who is covering most of the cost," LaPorte said. "What we're hoping to do is to bridge the additional gap and put on an event that is indistinguishable from past years."
The North Star Bicycle Festival is the state's premier professional cycling event, with a listing on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar. It has been held in the region in some form since 1999.
In the past, the race has attracted professionals from across the world, including the Colombian, Mexican and New Zealand national biking teams.
"This contributes substantially to the Twin Cities and this entire region's reputation as a center for cycling," LaPorte said.
