STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — In the romantic version of Colorado cycling’s road racing history, the long-defunct Coors Classic may well be remembered as Woodstock on wheels.
It has been some 20 years since the stage race rolled through the Rockies, with an almost annual chorus emanating from the state’s road riding community searching ever since for a way to get back to the proverbial garden. Various attempts, including the Saturn Cycling Classic from 2000-03 and last summer’s aborted launch of the Colorado Stage International Cycle Classic in Vail, have fallen short as the second coming of the original. No one, it seems, has figured out a way to recreate the magic.
“It was the genesis for the renaissance of cycling in America. Prior to 1974, cycling was so far underground that nobody knew it existed. Suddenly there was this explosion,” said Len Pettyjohn, a longtime race organizer from Boulder who guided Coors into the sport shortly after the launch of the original Red Zinger races in 1974. “That’s why everybody feels like we have to do that again in Colorado. Boulder put cycling on the map in the U.S. We have the terrain, the talent and, really, a feeling of ownership. People feel like that type of event belongs in Colorado.”
To wit, Lance Armstrong, the world’s most famous cyclist and a part-time Aspen resident, recently met with Gov. Bill Ritter proposing the return of a major stage race to the state.
Pettyjohn, who orchestrated the Saturn Cycling Classic and has an insider’s understanding of road racing economics, believes Armstrong may be the only person with enough clout to pull off such an event. His affiliation alone may be enough to draw big-name sponsors and the requisite media platform needed to finance such events costing more than $1 million a day, Pettyjohn says. Without those key components, American cycle racing will remain the realm of relatively small events held in relatively obscure places.
But the real question may be, is that such a bad thing?
“I’m new to Colorado, so the Coors Classic predates me,” said Corey Piscopo, creator of the inaugural Steamboat Springs Stage Race presented by Moots, a four-day event that wrapped up on Labor Day. “Our race really was grassroots from the start. We weren’t concerned with big promotion. We wanted to keep it a small, community event where the riders that did come walked away saying it was a quality race. I think next year, if it’s back, we easily could make it into a national event. But we’re sort of easing into it.”
As the only cycling stage race in Colorado this year, the Steamboat Stage managed to attract some of the state’s heavy hitters among a field that rapidly grew to more than 300 since its original planning meeting last December. Boulder Olympian and world champion Taylor Phinney from the Trek/Livestrong team pulled out at the last minute because of illness, but two-time Olympian and national champion Alison Dunlap (Luna) from Colorado Springs showed up to post the fastest time among the women, and Boulder-based Australian Benjamin Day (Fly V Australia) rode impressively throughout the time trial, road race, criterium and circuit stages on his way to a 5-minute, 55-second overall pro victory over Alex Hagman (Ciclismo Racing) of Fort Collins.
“It’s a shame there aren’t more big races up here in Colorado. There are some incredible athletes that reside up here and some incredible venues, but it just hasn’t happened,” said Day, 30, on his first visit to Steamboat. “This race has got quite a bit of support locally, and I think it could grow into a really good race. It takes a long time for a race to get good sponsorships behind it and really grow into something big. But Corey has done a great job, and I’m sure it will get bigger and bigger every year.”
Crowds never swelled into the thousands among spectators along the course, and helicopters carrying camera crews didn’t buzz above the ski slopes, yet those who took part in the smaller scale stage race believe the grassroots approach to road riding may ultimately be Colorado’s ticket back to the big leagues.
“I think Colorado racers want it. I think a lot of recreational cyclists have that history of watching really big events that were exciting, spectator friendly and bring in people. We’ve kind of embraced that here. It’s a community event, not just racers showing up and riding,” Piscopo said. “That fact that we are in Steamboat Springs is the other thing that helps us. This is a community of cyclists and businesses that are outdoor oriented. That’s huge. It’s a lot of players doing little things that make it come off as a polished event, and I think it’s all come together.”
