Rev3 Triathlon is not gearing up for Key event

The path to the inaugural Florida Revolution3 “Rev3” Triathlon won’t lead through Longboat Key.
On Thursday, Nov. 10, the company withdrew its application to bring as many as 1,000 participants on a 56-mile bicycle course up and down Longboat Key twice. Rev-3 race organizer Eric Opdyke told the Longboat Key Town Commission at its Nov. 7 meeting that Longboat Key was the “last piece of the puzzle” needed to organize a race that would also take competitors through Lido Key and downtown Sarasota.

“Quite honestly, it’s very disappointing that we couldn’t get this together,” Opdyke said.

Opdyke said that his company faced resistance, especially from the Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce, in planning the event. Rev3 wanted to hold its triathlon Oct. 28, 2012, with Nov. 4, 2012 as its second choice — the same date that the chamber had promoted as the date of the third annual Longboat Key Triathlon, which is organized by the chamber and drew approximately 450 participants last October.

“The chamber of commerce did not believe they could have their event and our event around the same time,” Opdyke said. “We actually believed that we could have grown triathlons in the area, and both events could have grown at the same time.”

But Chamber President Tom Aposporos — who also spoke to the commission at the Nov. 7 meeting — denied that he had been unwilling to work with officials from Rev3 and the Sarasota County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is promoting the event.

“This really came out of left field for us at a time when we were trying to create a really great event,” he said. “All I did was work with them despite the continuing changes of date and despite the changing number of competitors. I continued to try to facilitate a good conversation.”

The company is currently pursuing other Gulf locations for its planned Florida event, including south Sarasota County and Clearwater.

Opdyke was doubtful when asked if his company was likely to pursue a Longboat Key venue in the future.

“We don’t want to be in any community that doesn’t want us,” he said.