Tour de Scottsdale

Some cyclists in the HonorHealth Tour de Scottsdale will see a familiar face at the start and finish lines at WestWorld of Scottsdale. They might not know the voice, though.

Adam Wadsworth will be at the microphone handling the announcer duties throughout the 62-mile and 35-mile rides.

The name sound familiar? Well, he finished first in the 2019 Tour de Scottsdale and is a familiar name to cyclists in the Valley in as much as he’s a member of the Jet Set Cycling team.

“They (Tour officials) were looking for someone who knows the local cycling scene,” said Wadsworth, 39. “I’m kind of plugged into the cycling here and I understand the course.” 

Adam Wadsworth

As he should being the reigning champ. But he’s stepping aside to get behind the mic and have a little fun.

Another factor is, well, “I'm just not in a place right now,” he said. “It's fitness. I’m not good enough to do it. Luckily, there's three or four guys on my team who are more than capable of pulling it off on Saturday. So, I'm hoping that they're going to deliver it for me. Not this year for me … I'm not I'm not in great shape.”

Vocally, he’s in perfect shape. So, you’ll hear him make the announcements, deliver platitudes, talk results and more.

Is he nervous? Hardly. He had been running a podcast on cycling for some time.

“I’ve done a little cycling media,” he said. “I interviewed professional cyclists.”

The new gig has him “really excited” to interact with spectators and cyclists alike. He’ll be working from WestWorld of Scottsdale beginning at 7 a.m. when the 62-milers start and again at 8 a.m. with the 35-milers head out. He’ll know a few of the more the 2,700 cyclists on the course.

“I'm pretty familiar with the local race scene and who the contenders are,” he said. “I know some of the stories and legacies behind each of the teams that will be there competing. I understand the course pretty well.”

And, in his opinion, Tour de Scottsdale has the best racer’s course in Arizona “because the terrain is very suitable for strategic attacks and strategic race techniques. So, it's going to be an exciting race.

“I'm excited to see how the teams can use the terrain to their advantage, and to see the different contenders who are more than capable of winning. We've got quite a few riders who are more than capable of winning on Saturday, so it should be a great race.”