PITTSBURGH -- As planning moves into high gear for an international staged cycling race from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in June 2008, the Pittsburgh 250 Commission welcomes WPXI-TV as television sponsor of the event in the Pittsburgh market. WPXI-TV and the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel will broadcast highlights and live coverage of the American Eagle

Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5, an international staged cycling race from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in June 2008.

“The Tour of Pennsylvania is a first-of-its-kind event in the United States,” said Bill Flanagan, executive director of Pittsburgh 250, Inc., which is organizing the Tour to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the naming of the Pittsburgh region. “WPXI-TV brings enormous experience in covering international cycling events that will help to assure that viewers appreciate and enjoy the challenge of a statewide staged race.”

The American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented by Highmark Healthy High 5 is one of three grand opening events celebrating the completion of the three signature projects of Pittsburgh 250; highlighting the Forbes Trail connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, completing the Great Allegheny Passage biking and hiking trail that will connect Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, and transforming Point State Park at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers.

“All of us at WPXI-TV are excited to be involved again in international cycling,” said Ray Carter, Vice President and General Manager of WPXI-TV. “As the broadcaster of the Thrift Drug Classic in the ‘90s we experienced firsthand the excitement that such a race can bring to communities throughout our region.”

WPXI-TV will provide highlights coverage each day of the six-day staged race on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC), the Retro Television Network (RTN) and WPXI-TV. The stations are planning live coverage of the final stage of the race on Sunday, June 29th in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The first international Espoir Class (for competitors 18-24) professional cycling event in North America, with the largest purse in its class in the world, and the first statewide staged race in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, the Tour of Pennsylvania will feature rolling Highmark Finish Line Festivals at each stage finish in central and western Pennsylvania, with entertainment and activities for the entire family.

The Tour of Pennsylvania is made possible through the generous support of Highmark Healthy High 5, American Eagle Outfitters, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Kennametal, Pitt-Ohio, Pittsburgh 250, WPXI-TV, and numerous sponsors across the Commonwealth.

For more information and to register to volunteer, please visit www.tourofpa.com.