MT. CRESTED BUTTE — The honeymoon has ended, the novelty has worn away and the routes are no longer fresh.
As the sophomore edition of the USA Pro Challenge churns along, race organizers face trying to at least duplicate and, hopefully, exceed last year’s success in the event’s all-important second year.
NBC is already broadcasting more than 31 hours of coverage of the Pro Challenge (which dropped “cycling” from its name), more than last year, including live coverage during the two final days on its flagship network. Last year’s TV ratings were twice that of any other American cycling race, officials say.
“I think the biggest benefit in year 2 is awareness and relevance,” Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge, told The Denver Post. “I think people know who we are. If you follow the sport of cycling, the race has become important to the fans, the riders and the media.”
Will the crowds along the course be as large and animated? Is the world ready to awaken from its Olympic and Tour de France hangover to tune in for an American race in only its second year?
“Last year we were selling a vision,” Hunter said. “And now we have numbers to back it up: TV ratings, number of countries who broadcast the race (more than 160). It’s a much easier approach this year than it was last year.”
The finish for Tuesday’s Stage 2, a 2-mile climb up to Mt. Crested Butte, provided the first opportunity to truly compare: Tuesday’s 99-mile stage included the same finish as 2011.
Crowds in this ski resort town numbered more than last year’s, said Erica Reiter, chairwoman for the local organizing committee. Race organizers had told the town to prepare for between 7,000 and 10,000.
“The finishes are more exciting than last year, so the crowds are going to be more entertained than they were,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Boulder-based Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda. “They’re building in the right direction. If they keep changing up the course and looking for new and interesting venues, and they show year-on-year improvement, the crowds will keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Race officials are quick to tout that 10 of the top 12 finishers from last year’s race have returned. But the two missing — Luxembourger brothers Andy and Frank Schleck — leave a considerable void, with Andy still recovering from a broken pelvis suffered in June and Frank out for failing a doping test for a banned diuretic in this year’s Tour de France. He has maintained his innocence.
So as Colorado remains the focal point of American cycling this week, an all-too-familiar story line is playing out in the broader cycling world.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has mounted a strong effort after a two-year investigation to implicate former storied cyclist Lance Armstrong for repeated use of performance enhancing drugs, charges that he has steadfastly denied. Armstrong filed suit to block USADA’s charges, but a federal judge threw his claim out Monday.
Meanwhile, the matter has triggered a bitter public dispute between USADA and the International Cycling Union (UCI), which argues that USADA has no jurisdiction in the case.
“Most of the issues that are ongoing in cycling deal with the sport a decade ago,” Vaughters said. “With your odd exception here and there, it’s not actually dealing with something that’s currently an issue in the sport.”
Talk to cycling fans and onlookers in these biking meccas along the Pro Challenge’s 683-mile route, and you’d believe that none of that matters anyway.
“It’s not affecting my enthusiasm,” said Daniel Jaber, an avid mountain biker who has lived in Durango for 10 years. “These guys are putting it out purely for the sport, most of them. They’re all appreciative of the fans, and they work hard. I appreciate that about the sport — at the level these guys participate.”
Regardless of the drama outside, Colorado — for this week, at least — remains a piece of cycling paradise. And as the race moves closer to Denver, crowds are expected to grow. The early stages — including Durango, which police said drew about 25,000, a number they expected — are hours of driving from the state’s population centers.
What’s abundantly clear is that next year race organizers are going bigger — they’re already calling it “America’s Race.”
“There’s a lot more national focus this year,” Hunter said. “Last year was all about producing a big and safe race and making people in Colorado proud. This year, it’s about making the race a national asset.”
Daniel Petty: 303-954-1081, dpetty@denverpost.com or
