USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 2: Montrose to Crested Butte Racing & Festivities

STAGE 2: MONTROSE TO CRESTED BUTTE – TUESDAY, AUG. 21

MONTROSE

11:25am Race Start Montrose Pavilion

Beginning at Montrose Pavilion, the stage will begin with a quick neutral lap before the riders head east out of town. Stage 2 begins with a new course for the first 65 miles and then the race visits familiar territory as it passes through Gunnison and retraces the 2011 route up to the grueling finish in Mt. Crested Butte.

Montrose has dubbed August “Bike Month” and has a jam-packed events calendar that includes rides, concerts and more. If your plannimg to spend the week in the area be sure to take part:

• Aug. 16 MBA Community Costume Cruise
  This event, sponsored by the Montrose Area Bicycle Alliance (MABA) and Main in Motion, promotes bicycle advocacy in Montrose. Enjoy the parade down Main Street, as well as a costume contest for prizes.
• Aug. 16 Bike Decorating Contest on Main Street
  Businesses, non-profits, families and individuals are invited to decorate a bike to display on Main Street from Aug. 16-22. The first-place winner gets a $500 prize.
• Aug. 18 Youth Appreciation Day                                                                                                                                                     This event, celebrating all things kids, features activities for youth at Baldrigdge Park and all over town.

• Aug. 18 Downtown Poker Cruise & Crawl (3-6 p.m.)
  Walk or ride your bike to various downtown restaurants and businesses to collect five playing cards. The players with the best three hands win prizes.
• Aug. 18 MABA/MRLD Bike-In Movie (6 p.m.)

• Aug. 19 UPC/MABA Club Ride
  This 27-mile ride utilizies the parade loop of the USA Pro Challenge Stage 2 start. The first 75 riders to sign up receive a USA Pro Challenge bag that includes a commemorative t-shirt, sticker, bike tool and more. The $25 entry fee includes a post-ride meal at RnR Sports Bar. Download the registration form at www.montroseUSAprochallenge.com/clubride/.
• Aug. 20 Rally with the Wailers Concert (The Bridges Golf & Country Club)
  Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and the opening band starts playing at 5:30. The Wailers take the stage at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $20 and may be purchased by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com/event/256459. (iSponsors can purchase a combo package, which offers $5 off the concert ticket price.) Concert-goers are encouraged to bring a blanket or camping chairs on which to sit. New Belgium Brewing, the official beer partner for the USA Pro Challenge, will be available at the concert, along with various other food and beverage items.
• Aug. 21 USA Pro Challenge Stage 2 Start (10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

As Montrose fades into the distance, the short but challenging climbs over Cerro Summit and Blue Mesa Summit await and make for early launch pads for the breakaway specialists. As the road levels, giving way to the picturesque twists and turns along the shores of Blue Mesa Reservoir, the riders approach the first Sprint Line of the day in Gunnison, 65 miles away from the start in Montrose.

GUNNISON

Expected Time of Arrival: Between 2 – 3:00pm

Gunnison will host the race two days in a row, first as a pass-through in Stage 2 and then as the start city for Stage 3.

Gunnison’s USA Pro Cycling Challenge – Ancillary Events

• SUNDAY, AUGUST 19th – Philadelphia Insurance Companies Queen Stage Pre-Ride                                                 How many people do you know who have ridden a stage of a professional cycling race? Join us for a sneak peek of the Gunnison side of the Queen Stage. This group ride format departs from IOOF Park at 9 a.m., ventures to the summit of Cottonwood Pass – a USA Pro Challenge King of the Mountains point finish – and back. Total mileage: 106! Not in love with the idea of riding the dirt? Do an all-pavement 40-mile route instead. Then join us at the post-ride Recovery Party at Garlic Mike’s, sponsored in part by Acli-Mate, at 2 p.m. $45 entry fee includes ride, goody bag and post-party. Register athttp://www.bikereg.com/, search for “Queen Stage”
• MONDAY, AUGUST 20th – Citizen’s Race & Fun Lap, presented by Western State Colorado University Local cycling legends have revived the circuit format in Gunnison. Sign up for the Fun Lap to ride where the pros will blaze on Tuesday. Women’s and Men’s Open categories will follow (16-29 years, 30-49 years, 50+ years), also on the Pro Challenge Stage 2 course. Women ride 30 minutes + 1 lap; men ride 45 minutes + 1 lap. Each field is limited to 50 riders. Register athttp://www.bikereg.com/, search for “Fun Lap”. Wheels roll from Escalante Hill at 5 p.m. Stick around for the chalking party afterwards. For questions, call Gregg Morin, 970 641 1137.
• VO2 Max Testing, presented by Philadelphia Insurance Companies – Understand your body to maximize training and performance. Western State Colorado University’s High Altitude Performance Laboratory offers this test to UPC fans on a limited basis Monday and Tuesday. Reservations are required. Call 970 275 3516.
• TUESDAY, AUGUST 21st – Queen’s Court Cycling Festival – The Queen’s Court offers a day of fun, food and entertainment. Follow the race in-bound from Montrose and all the way to the Mt. Crested Butte finish on the jumbotron, sample local fare, get your race souvenirs, marvel as the peloton flies through town at top speed. Stick around for live music from Chris Daniels & the Kings, followed by the Crested Butte Film Festival’s showing of cycling films under the stars. IOOF Park.
• 10:00 a.m. Festival opens

• 11:30 a.m. Iron Wrench: The best bike mechanics duke it out in Cycling Stadium. Each crew receives a box of parts and a frame, plus access to our parts “pantry”. Their challenge: build a rolling bike within two hours. Crowd applause will choose the winner of a cash prize.
• Noon Kids Zone opens, until 8:00 p.m.: bounce houses, Bike Booth, snacks
• ~1:45 p.m. Peloton races through town
• 4:30 p.m. Live music from Chris Daniels & The Kings
• 7:00 p.m. Crested Butte Film Festival presents Cycling Under the Stars: shorts and feature film Chasing Legends

CRESTED BUTTE

Expected Time of Arrival: 3:20 – 4:30pm

Moving north out of Gunnison breakaway time gaps will shrink, team leaders will move to the front and domestiques will protect and position their leaders. As the riders head into downtown Crested Butte, they’ll face the day’s last Sprint Line. From there it’s a 2-mile climb to the line at Mt. Crested Butte. A dynamic and exciting uphill finish, this short, but steep hill gave Levi Leipheimer the leader’s jersey in 2011.

• Monday Night Hype Party on Elk – August 20 – Time to get psyched up for the USA Pro Challenge to race to Mt. Crested Butte from Montrose on August 21 for Stage 2 of the seven-day stage race. The night before, Monday, August 20, there will be a Hype Party on the streets of downtown Crested Butte. Elk Avenue will be closed between 2nd and 3rd streets, featuring live music and libations available for purchase. The jumbo tron will be playing clips from last year’s race, to recall the excitement that took place last year in Colorado and get ready to watch it all unfold again in 2012 USA Pro Challenge.
• Monday, August 20th from 6:00 p.m. to ? – New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat comes to CB for the Crested Butte Last Sprint Block Party in the historic downtown of Crested Butte. This block party is the kick off for the Pro Cycling Tours Stage 2 race through Crested Butte and up to Mt. Crested Butte on Tuesday, August 21. Bring your townie and custom to this fun-packed evening of event! New Belgium and Avery Breweries will be on hand for refreshments. Hang out with High Rollers and their adult big wheels for a number of fun races. Music, food and fun for all ages. Come join us!
• Crested Butte Townie Crit – August 21 – As if riding a townie through Crested Butte isn’t enjoyable enough. Now cycling enthusiasts can ride laps around town, in a criterium-style race emulating the loop that the pro-racers will be sprinting later that afternoon, except for a brief detour through the Talk of the Town bar to add a little excitement and hilarious spectating opportunities. Dress to impress, grab your townie and test yourself “Crested Butte style” for the now-annual Townie Crit. The best cyclists in the world will be speeding through the downtown sprint line only a few hours later, do you think you can beat their times on your townie? Race begins in downtown Crested Butte at 11 a.m. and registration is in the Post Office parking lot in the downtown sprint line viewing area.
• USA Pro Challenge Finish Festival – August 21 – The finish is always a huge place of anticipation and some of the hottest action when it comes to stage racing, so why not throw a big party around it all? From 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. next to the Stage 2 Finish Line in Mt. Crested Butte there will be a festival, complete with live music, dancing, a beer garden, local vendors and a jumbo tron to watch the racers as the excitement from Stage 2 unfolds between Montrose and Mt. Crested Butte, passing along the Blue Mesa Reservoir, through Gunnison, up the East River Valley, with a sprint line in downtown Crested Butte to the finish in Mt. Crested Butte. In the Finish Festival, the youngest of bikers will also have a chance to race around in the Strider Cup and enjoy some other bicycle focused fun in the Kids’ Zone, making it the perfect place for families to show their enthusiasm for this awesome sport.

PHOTO CREDITS: Montrose Association of Commerce & Tourism, USAPCC

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