Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

BY NATHAN VAN DYNE, OUTTHERECOLORADO.COM

DENVER • From sailboats on Lake Dillon to rooftops in Steamboat Springs, they came out in high numbers to watch. They cheered in Garden of the Gods, they congregated along 508 miles of roadsides and they camped at 12,000 feet.

Professional cycling hadn’t rolled through Colorado in 23 years. Apparently, it was missed.

On Sunday afternoon, less than a kilometer from where the stage race was unveiled a year earlier by former Gov. Bill Ritter and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge reached its first finish line. Thousands of fans lined the streets around the state capitol to welcome Levi Leipheimer, Cadel Evans and more than 100 of the world’s best riders on two wheels.

When Leipheimer slipped on the yellow jersey for the final time, winner of the inaugural event, the spectators roared in approval. Leipheimer led an all-American podium as Christian Vande Velde finished second and Tejay Van Garderen took third. For the first time since Boulder’s Davis Phinney won the Coors Classic in 1988, a cycling champion had been crowned in Colorado.

“I was 13 years old when I watched the Tour de France on television and I read magazines about the Coors Classic on these roads here in Colorado,” Leipheimer said. “To be here 25 years later and to experience the size and the scope of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is just beyond my expectations.

“I didn’t expect this many people to come out. Today has been the biggest crowd that I’ve seen in the U.S. and that is really saying something because the Amgen Tour of California has produced some enormous crowds.”

The scene in Denver was reminiscent of ones that played out all over the state the past seven days. Whether riders were starting in the morning or finishing in the afternoon, throngs of energetic fans were present to greet them. And if a stage included a climb, you could bet on a carnival near the summit.

Elevation brought electricity all week as thousands swarmed passes named Monarch, Cottonwood, Independence and Rabbit Ears. Thousands more blanketed ascents on Swan Mountain Road and Lookout Mountain. They didn’t spend a few minutes at the top. They spent entire days, eagerly awaiting the arrival of weary riders.

It felt a bit like the Tour de France, only with the Rockies instead of the Alps. Evans can attest — he won cycling’s showcase race last month in Paris and then arrived in Colorado Springs for the prologue after a victory tour in his native Australia.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever raced in a place where the fans have been so appreciative,” he said after finishing seventh. “I want to thank the state of Colorado for coming out and supporting the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. People here were so appreciative and I will go away thinking that I want to come back because of that.”

When launching an event of this scale and magnitude, it helps to have international stars such as Evans, Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck in the field. The Schleck brothers rounded out the top three in the Tour de France and have developed a strong following in the U.S.

“Thanks everybody on the road today for the massive awesome support I got from you!” Andy Schleck tweeted after Saturday’s ascent of Swan Mountain Road. “In the climb, I feel like in the Tour!! Love that feeling.”

Event organizers certainly love that feeling as well, especially considering the week’s attendance came despite Armstrong’s absence. The Texan helped push the USA Pro Cycling Challenge into existence but retired from professional racing in February.

It didn’t matter.

“Look at the (Greg) LeMond era, and the impact that it had on American cycling,” International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said of the only U.S. rider besides Armstrong to win the Tour de France. “Look at the Armstrong era and the impact that it had on American cycling. Here we are in a period with no LeMond and no Armstrong, yet the crowds were bigger this week than any race in the United States.”

The crowd celebrated loudly as Leipheimer received a bouquet of flowers and two final kisses from the podium girls Sunday. He then retreated to a quiet spot at the news conference, where Evans walked past to offer his congratulations.

“Thanks for coming,” Leipheimer said.

A message for Evans, and for thousands of fans across the state.