Pedal Pusher

A Washington Post article recently described America's passion for the Super Bowl as "small fries" compared to the worldwide fervor ignited by the Union Cycliste Internationale Road World Championships.

On Sept. 19-27, all of that passion will converge in Richmond, Va., the host for bike racing's 2015 world championship. This marks the first time the United States has hosted the event since 1986.  

The success or failure of America's foray into the Worlds largely rests on the shoulders of Tim Miller '93. Miller serves as chief operating officer for Richmond 2015, the local organizing body for the championships.  

While most folks in Virginia are probably more familiar with quarterback Tom Brady than biking champ Michael Kwiatkoswki, a near constant stream of news coverage has Virginians, particularly in Richmond, gearing up for the races.  

"Everybody's starting to talk about it," Miller says. "Everybody's starting to realize, 'Wow, this is the biggest thing that's ever been here.'"  

Big indeed. Over 450,000 spectators are expected over the nine-day race, with about a quarter of those likely to be international visitors (many from Europe). Between 150 and 300 million television viewers will watch as about 1,000 of the world's top cyclists from about 75 countries - many of them racers who compete in the Tour de France - ride to the finish. The projected economic impact of the world championships is $158 million.  

With so much prestige, exposure and money at stake, a lot of people want a say in the planning. Almost 40 individuals sit on the organization's board of directors.  

"With something this big, there are so many people involved," says Miller. "If we were just putting on a bike race, it would be easy. It's all the stuff around it: the politics, the committees, the opinions. It's challenging."

The principles Miller learned as a sociology major at Roanoke College, he says, come in handy at his current job. "At the end of the day, so much of it has to do with dealing with people and understanding where people are coming from," he says.  

During his junior year at Roanoke College, Miller, an avid cyclist, heard organizers needed volunteers for the Tour DuPont, a cycling stage race created to become this country's Tour de France.  

Miller signed up to be a traveling course marshal for the race, which meant traveling with the cyclists from Delaware to North Carolina over 12 days. "I was hooked," Miller says of the experience. "That was my first introduction to the business side of the sport of cycling. I knew this is what I wanted to do."  

The summer after graduation, Miller entered his first race as a cyclist. "It was a pretty rude awakening," he says. "I don't think people have any idea how hard bike racing is.   ...I kind of stuck with it and got acclimated to the sport."  

Miller continued racing with an eye toward going pro. He also accepted an internship with Medalist Sports, a Richmond-based sports marketing firm that organized the Tour DuPont. Miller gained valuable experience there. "I learned the business from some of the best people," he says.  

By 1996, Miller had decided he wasn't going to be the next Greg LeMond. "I knew it was time to settle down and get a real job," he says.

Miller studied computer science at ECPI University and later accepted a position in IT at CapTech Ventures. At a meeting one day, company executives explained they were searching for a platform to get the business' name into the community. "Of course, I raised my hand to say I could create a bike race," Miller explains.

Miller organized the first CapTech Classic in 2003. "It was a big hit," he says.  

The race grew until 2006 when Miller quit to focus on creating a U.S. Open for cycling. "I let CapTech Classic die," Miller says. "We were going to build this bigger, better event. Things didn't work out."  

By 2007, Miller had returned to IT. "It was sad," he says. "It was hard."  

Miller didn't stay away from biking for long, though. Around 2009, he heard the UCI's world governing body wanted to see the championship return to the United States. "I started to talk to some people," Miller says. "We're like 'You know, we ought to make a run at this.'"  

In December of 2010, Richmond mayor Dwight Jones announced the city would vie to host the event. That January, Miller began working full-time for Richmond 2015.  

As a perk of his job, Miller got to ride Richmond's courses with Shelley Olds '03, a member of the U.S. cycling team in the 2012 Olympics, when she came to town to scout them. "I can tell you that Worlds is one of her goals this year," Miller explains. "Unless something unforeseen happens, she will be on the team."  

The day the pair cycled together, the temperature hovered around 30 degrees, but the two did trade some stories about their respective Roanoke College days. "She's a very down-to-earth person," Miller says. "Very easy to talk to."  

As the father of an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old, Miller admits he had some jitters about leaving the security of his IT job. Now that the finish line is in sight, though, Miller feels proud he didn't play it safe.   "At some point after it's all said and done," Miller says, "I will look back on this and think, 'Wow. That was quite a ride.'"