The 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was the inaugural edition of the
USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage race. The race was held from August 22–28, and was rated as a
2.1 event on the
UCI America Tour. The race began with a short prologue time trial in
Colorado Springs, wound its way through the
Rocky Mountains at heights of up to , and finished in the streets of downtown
Denver.
Participating teams
Included in the participating team rosters were the top three
2011 Tour de France
The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of . The route en ...
riders
Cadel Evans,
Andy Schleck and
Fränk Schleck. The full team list included:
;UCI ProTeams
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;UCI Professional Continental Teams
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;UCI Continental Teams
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Stages
Prologue
August 22, 2011 —
Colorado Springs,
The opening time trial for the race began in the
Garden of the Gods national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.
Stage 1
August 23, 2011 —
Salida to
Crested Butte,
The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending over
Monarch Pass and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of
Mount Crested Butte.
Stage 2
August 24, 2011 —
Gunnison to
Aspen,
The
queen stage
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts.
0–9
; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...
involved nearly of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of
Cottonwood Pass, and to
Independence Pass.
Stage 3
August 25, 2011 —
Vail,
Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with of climbing over only . The route was the same one used during time trials for the
Coors Classic in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by
Ben Day.
Stage 4
August 26, 2011 —
Avon
Avon may refer to:
* River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers
Organisations
*Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England
*Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, following ...
to
Steamboat Springs,
This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.
Stage 5
August 27, 2011 —
Steamboat Springs to
Breckenridge,
Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended
Rabbit Ears Pass
Rabbit Ears Pass (el. 9426 ft, 2873 m) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States, where US highway 40 crosses the Continental Divide. North of the summit is Rabbit Ears Peak which has the sh ...
, a steep pass with about of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.
Stage 6
August 28, 2011 —
Golden to
Denver,
The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film
American Flyers
''American Flyers'' is a 1985 American sports drama film about bicycle racing directed by John Badham and starring Kevin Costner, David Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul, Luca Bercovici and Janice Rule.
It was written by Steve Tesich.
P ...
. Riders climbed
Lookout Mountain, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC.
Classification leadership
General classification
Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
August 2011 sports events in the United States