Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

Routes unveiled for inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge

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Created on Monday, 06 June 2011 11:54

Written by USA Pro-Cycling Challenge

By BRIAN GOMEZ, THE GAZETTE

The prologue of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge has the world’s best professional riders descending out of Garden of the Gods as fast as 50 mph, shooting through Old Colorado City and concluding a time trial of the seven-stage race in downtown Colorado Springs.

Negotiating quick turns and staying under control at high speeds figure as the keys for the 5.18-mile kickoff of the Aug. 22-28 event that will take 128 cyclists around 11 host cities across the state, with a fan-friendly blend of mountain, sprint and downtown routes.

Breakdown of each stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Riders are expected to release from Garden of the Gods in 60-second intervals starting at 1:15 p.m. on Aug. 22, then they’ll wind down Ridge Road, head onto Pikes Peak Avenue for a short burst, turn onto Colorado Avenue for the final stretch and end near the corner of Colorado and Cascade Avenue, according to race routes that were released Monday.

It’s a bit longer than the typical prologue for a stage race, but it's mostly downhill as the elevation gain is a mere 62 feet after beginning at 6,381 feet, creating the probability of tight times going into the six other legs – a mountaintop finish from Salida to Crested Butte; a mountain stage from Gunnison to Aspen; a time trial in Vail; a jaunt from Avon to Steamboat Springs; a dash from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge; and a closer from Golden to Denver.

Video preview of the prologue ... at 60 mph!

Perhaps the most attractive spot for viewing the prologue is on a climb toward the top of Ridge Road, where fans can watch the riders pass, “and they’ll be passing at a relatively low speed because the first quarter of a mile is kind of all uphill,” said Chris Carmichael, chairman of the Springs organizing committee. The fastest part is at the bottom of Ridge Road, as “they’ll have to make that turn onto Pikes Peak, that left-hand turn,” he said.

It’s a course that ought to “challenge the athletes but still make it pretty close times, make it exciting,” Carmichael said. “We could have easily run them up Cheyenne Canon, and you would have had time splits all over the place. We wanted to keep it close and keep it exciting and build excitement as the race goes into the mountains” for two-plus miles of elevation gain. In all, the inaugural race, formerly named after Quiznos, covers 508 miles.

Carmichael is most enthused by what should be a postcard start, with Pikes Peak situated as a backdrop to Garden of the Gods. He also likes the iconic finish, with riders whizzing past America the Beautiful Park before crossing near the U.S. Olympic Committee’s new headquarters building. The prologue should last about 2 ½ hours, with big-screen TVs in the finishing area showing live coverage on Versus that will be used Aug. 28 on NBC.

“Having the prologue in Colorado Springs, we don’t share this stage with any other city – it’s all ours,” said Carmichael, who hopes as many as 300,000 people attend the prologue, giving race organizers a chance to reach their goal of more than 1 million fans in total.

And Carmichael wasn’t bashful in stressing the importance of the prologue. “You have to approach every stage as though that’s going to be the stage that could potentially win the race,” he said. “If you want to win the race, you can’t afford to have a bad prologue.”

Photo gallery from race announcement featuring Broncos great Shannon Sharpe

USA Pro Cycling Challenge chairman Shawn Hunter anticipates the most difficult test in the 131-mile second stage, in which riders will summit 12,126-foot Cottonwood Pass and 12,095-foot Independence Pass. “There is no better place in the world for athletes to test their endurance and pure athleticism than Colorado,” Hunter said. “And there is no better place to watch a professional cycling race than in the Colorado Rockies.”

“This course is exceptionally designed to appeal to all cyclists,” said the race’s producer, Jim Birrell of Medalist Sports, adding that the event offers “incredible climbs and many unique opportunities for sprinters to show what they’re worth. No other race in the world puts riders through the challenges and drama of constant altitude for seven days.”

USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE

Aug. 22: Prologue, Colorado Springs (time trial)

Aug. 23: Stage 1, Salida to Crested Butte (mountaintop finish)

Aug. 24: Stage 2, Gunnison to Aspen (mountain stage)

Aug. 25: Stage 3, Vail (time trial)

Aug. 26: Stage 4, Avon to Steamboat Springs

Aug. 27: Stage 5, Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge

Aug. 28: Stage 6, Golden to Denver