2013 USA Pro Cycling Challenge cities announced

[baker]

A bit of a bummer to see Colorado Springs left off the list this year, but I'll still get out to see some stage(s). I don't see Flagstaff, either...

USA Pro Challenge Will Visit Eight Colorado Cities | Cyclingnews.com

2013 USA Pro Challenge
Monday, August 19: Stage 1 - Aspen/Snowmass Circuit
Tuesday, August 20: Stage 2 - Aspen/Snowmass - Breckenridge
Wednesday, August 21: Stage 3 - Breckenridge - Steamboat Springs
Thursday, August 22: Stage 4 - Steamboat Springs - Beaver Creek
Friday, August 23: Stage 5 - Vail (individual time trial)
Saturday, August 24: Stage 6 - Loveland - Fort Collins
Sunday, August 25: Stage 7 - Denver Circuit

[SkaredShtles]

Needz moar dirt.

[lidarman]

Boulder made a conscious decision not to vie for it next year. It was a bit controversial ending at Flagstaff last summer.

Looks less exciting to me not having indi pass.

But if the Vail Time trial is like 2011, that stage will be fun.

[baker]

Needz moar dirt.

Looks like zero dirt this year, eh?

[baker]

Looks less exciting to me not having indi pass.

Logically, wouldn't Stage 2 still include Independence Pass? It looks like Cottonwood is the big (dirt) climb that was left out this year.

[SkaredShtles]

Looks like zero dirt this year, eh?

No dirt... no care!

[xcguy]

The excitement here from the Loveland-Fort Collins contingent is...non-existent.

[brokefork]

Be interested to know where the route goes on the Loveland/Ft Collins stage. Maybe Big Thompson or Poudre Canyon to get some mileage?

[bedell99]

Very surprised about Boulder. What was do controversial about the Flagstaff finish? I thought it was awesome.

Erik

[steadyflow]

Very surprised about Boulder. What was do controversial about the Flagstaff finish? I thought it was awesome.

Erik

Everything is controversial in Boulder......

[LittleBitey]

The excitement here from the Loveland-Fort Collins contingent is...non-existent.

NoCo blows goats. Where is Limon represented in this "announcement"?

[TomP]

Boulder made a conscious decision not to vie for it next year. It was a bit controversial ending at Flagstaff last summer.

Looks less exciting to me not having indi pass.

But if the Vail Time trial is like 2011, that stage will be fun.

Yep, it's all about who bends over backward (or forward and facing away perhaps) to get their cities on the route. Looks like lots of money towns this year.

Salida worked it really hard to get the start of the first real stage year 1. It turned out to be quite underwhelming. People hardly showed up. Most of the crowd were just townies. Couple hundred maybe.

Then the finish in CB was a feeding frenzy, and the Independence Pass summit was a feeding frenzy.

Salida didn't even try to be a town on the route last year.

The site has no maps that I can see. Gotta figure the Aspen->Breck stage will go over Indy Pass. Otherwise it would be largely an I-70 corridor route.

[SunnyinCO]

Logically, wouldn't Stage 2 still include Independence Pass? It looks like Cottonwood is the big (dirt) climb that was left out this year.

Could still get some dirt.... East over Indi pass (harder than going west) - south on 24 - east on 285 to Como - head up Boreas Pass road - into Breckenridge.

That would be two good climbs with plenty of dirt on Boreas and would test the riders and drivers skills on a bumpy descent.

[xcguy]

Very surprised about Boulder. What was do controversial about the Flagstaff finish? I thought it was awesome.

Erik

Boulder is that way. It took so much just to get the Flagstaff finish "approved" and even though it was packed with excited fans, still there was a very vocal minority who biatched and moaned after it was over. A success but not worth the effort to do it again.

[mtncampbell]

All the cities that want a stage also need to volunteer a certain number of hotel rooms - last year in Boulder one of the other limited factors was that it was during a high occupancy period (parents weekend I believe), and the rooms just didn't exist. It's not all about the money (although that helps), it's also about the infrastructure to support the riders, crews, etc.
Boulder didn't even try to get it again this year, they're going for next year evidently.

[thump]

Boulder also had some pretty loud opposition from the business community this time. Evidentially the projected revenue influx from last year turned out to be a crock. Most of the business on the route had their entries blocked off and were prohibited from additional advertising, so they effectively got closed for the day and lost money. At the same time, some of the tour's ad sponsors were getting to put up competing signage nearby.

I think Boulder ended up spending more on road resurfacing the entire route than they took back in off additional sales tax revenue.

The mountain communities seemed to be less than enthused about it, especially dealing with the road closures, and the amount of spectators up this way was almost comically low.

[dickt3030]

3 crits out of 7 days... in a state full of mountains. Weak.

[sbsbiker]

We loved the event here in Steamboat, and our little town saw a huge uptick in sales revenue from it comming the first year. We also have plenty of empty rooms to fill in the summer so it makes a great fit for a resort town. We got passed up last year went the route went down south, i thought it was a mistake to put the event so far away from the Denver area, that's where the people are, and it seems the race adjusted and now the whole thing is within a 4hour drive for most of the states population. Now the race org. Just needs to find something as good as Flagstaff to produce a couple of exciting finishes, both for fans watching and racers.

[Walt Disney's Frozen Head]

3 crits out of 7 days... in a state full of mountains. Weak.

I might be missing something but I don't see where the routes have been announced. Where do you see the crits?

[TobyGadd]

Watching fast bikes is always fun, regardless of the surface. Looking forward to it!

[Grizzattack]

Nobody says it like the Mad Dog

"But it’s too bad that Southern Colorado gets shut out. There’s already bugger-all for lesser events south of the Palmer Divide — those tree-hugging sissies in Boulder are afeared that Jeebus and/or the NRA will git ‘em if they dare to venture down this way to race they bicycles — and now anyone who wants to see The Big Show will have to crank up the idiot box or the family tank."

Hell of the Northwest « Mad Blog Media

[mtncampbell]

Watching fast bikes is always fun, regardless of the surface. Looking forward to it!

Agree. It's great to just have this to watch in Colorado - regardless of route. Can't wait to see it all again...

[ospreypacks]

I might be missing something but I don't see where the routes have been announced. Where do you see the crits?

Only the cities have been announced and the actual routes won't be released until Spring.

The host cities and stages of the 2013 USA Pro Challenge include:

Monday, Aug. 19 Stage 1 Aspen/Snowmass Circuit
Tuesday, Aug. 20 Stage 2 Aspen/Snowmass - Breckenridge
Wednesday, Aug. 21 Stage 3 Breckenridge – Steamboat Springs
Thursday, Aug. 22 Stage 4 Steamboat Springs – Beaver Creek
Friday, Aug. 23 Stage 5/ITT Vail Time Trial
Saturday, Aug. 24 Stage 6 Loveland – Fort Collins
Sunday, Aug. 25 Stage 7 Denver Circuit

[Grizzattack]

Not until Mount Evans or Pikes Peak is added to the route will we have a true mountain top finish.

[zrm]

3 crits out of 7 days... in a state full of mountains. Weak.

A circuit isn't the same as a crit. The Worlds and Olympics are usually circuits with laps 4-12 miles. Crits are much shorter laps.

I see two circuits, one ITT, four road stages.