Asheville is going to the Tour de France!
Brent Bookwalter, who lives in Asheville with his wife, is a pro cyclist on Team BMC. And that means he is teammates with Cadel Evans, 2011 Tour de France champ. Bookwalter was on that team, and helped Evans to the win.
The 100th Tour de France starts this Saturday, June 29. It is made up of 21 stages and covers a total distance of 3,479 kilometers, or 2,157 miles, before ending in Paris on Sunday, July 21.
According to his website, Bookwalter is from Grand Rapids, Mich., and began racing in 1998. In 2006, he graduated with honors and a B.S. in biology from Lees-McRae College after winning nine collegiate national titles for the college.
Very cool.