The Tour de Georgia, which brought national attention to Washington Wilkes earlier this year, has canceled its 2009 race because of financial problems but plans to return in 2010.

"It's very disappointing," Washington Wilkes Tourism Director Ashley Barnett said, "but we'll be ready to go next year with our bid to bring the Tour back to Washington in 2010."

Billed as one of North America's premier professional cycling events, the six-stage race has not been able to find a title sponsor for the last two years, with main sponsor AT&T joining last year's race at the last minute.

Long-time supporter Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said the decision to cancel the 2009 race came as a response to input from partners. "Since April, we have had an enormous response from our partners on ways we can strengthen the Tour for the future, and we have been listening," Cagle said.

Cagle said host cities want to have time to prepare tourism packages, and health providers want to plan how to use the Health and Wellness expos to spread their message across the state, he said.

Cagle said, "We have listened to their advice and have decided to skip one year so that the Tour de Georgia can once and for all be ahead of the game in the planning process. This is a decision I feel is wise and one that will strengthen the Tour de Georgia for years to come."

Craig Lesser, former Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said that over the course of six years, the Tour de Georgia has attracted 3.2 million spectators, many of whom traveled to Georgia from out of state, and generated a direct economic impact totaling over $186 million. "The 2008 Tour de Georgia, our most successful Tour yet, yielded over $38.6 million in direct economic impact for the State."