Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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"Once you learn the tactics and mind games [of stage racing], it's a chess match at 30 mph."—PETER STETINA of three 22-mile laps, each one climbing 3,080 feet with hardly any recovery, that connect Aspen and Snowmass Village. "Aspen is a community with a deep passion for cycling, and there's great leadership," says USA Pro Challenge CEO and Cochairman Shawn Hunter about why Aspen was chosen to host the start of America's biggest cycling race. "It has hosted starts and finishes for the last two years. It was the next logical step to become the race start. Aspen has done a great job since day one." And perhaps van Garderen may have a slight advantage while in Aspen, considering many of his avid supporters will be cheering him on from the sidelines. "This is huge," he says. "I have family and a lot of friends in Aspen, [and] I love the town. It's going to be an incredible start to the race." Hunter adds, "It's going to be intense from start to finish. This year, three of the stages include circuits—Aspen/Snowmass, Fort Collins, and Denver. It's a challenging route for riders." It's also the most fan-friendly race to date. Most host communities have both a finish and a start, and it's a compact race—the two farthest distances are Aspen and Denver, separated by less than 200 miles. T he race begins with three "neutral" laps in Aspen before racers head to Main Street and Maroon Creek Road, cross the Tiehack pedestrian bridge, and then follow Tiehack Road out to Highway 82. Riders will traverse up Owl Creek Road to Snowmass Village, ride down Brush Creek Road to Medicine Bow Road, and then follow Lower Ranch Road. The race will parallel the highway before crossing at Smith Hill Way, continuing through the West End for the ride back to Main Street. Bike paths parallel most of the route, and there are multiple locations where spectators can see the peloton. On August 20, Stage 2 starts in Aspen and then snakes up the dreaded yet incredibly scenic Independence Pass. At 12,000 feet, it's the highest climb in the history of professional cycling races. Team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda racer Peter Stetina, who's a lifelong Boulderite, will acclimatize for the race by spending a block of time at a high-altitude location a week before the race starts. At high altitudes, there's less oxygen in the air to push cyclist's muscles and produce power. "It's a lot more lung-based," Stetina says. "Your heart rate is much higher. Your legs might not hurt, but your heart rate is sky-high before you know it. It's easy to go to the point of no return. It has to be a measured effort. Every time you train, you push that barrier. You're trying to push yourself into a mild state of suffocation. The person who can do that the longest, wins." After "Indy" Pass is summited, the riders barely get any reprieve before ascending Hoosier Pass on the way to Breckenridge, with a lung-busting, 15 percent grade climb in the heart of Breckenridge prior to a wild ride down Boreas Pass. From there, Stage 3 of the race routes to Steamboat Springs, with Stage 4 finishing in Beaver Creek and Stage 5 in Vail (for the individual time trial on August 23). Stage 6 introduces two new host cities, as racers ride from Loveland to Fort Collins. The race culminates with a circuit in Denver on August 25. "The greatest thing I've heard is the positive feedback from the riders," says Hunter. "They love competing in front of the big crowds. Everyone says the only race with crowds bigger than here is Le Tour de France." "It's my favorite race of the year," adds Stetina. "It's the Wild West. I love the big rural roads, the alpine vistas, and the mountain peaks. Cycling is inherently a scenery sport. You go from point A to point B, and that's the biking, but once you make recreation out of it, you take the scenic route. That's a no-brainer in Colorado. A lot of mountain bikers say [road racing] is not as much fun, but wait until you get into a stage race. Once you learn the tactics and mind games, it's a chess match at 30 mph." For those of us mere cycling mortals, Aspen locals have always known what the world is now discovering, thanks in large part to the additional exposure of the Pro Challenge—the Roaring Fork Valley is a world-class cycling destination. Aspen's mountain roads are some of the most scenic in the state and, for the most part, traffic-free. Hundreds of miles of single track challenge mountain bikers in every corner of the Valley, and Snowmass offers lift-accessed downhill mountain biking. Van Garderen's favorite training rides are Independence Pass, Maroon Bells, Castle Creek, and a variety of routes downvalley. In addition to following the action-packed peloton, weekend events surrounding the USA Pro Challenge include group rides, clinics, and more. VIP tickets for the Aspen/Snowmass stages benefit Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club and grant access to a VIP tent at the finish on Monday, August 19 and at the start the next day. The USA Pro Challenge is held August 19 –25, with the race start in Aspen August 19, and Stage 2, from Aspen to Breckenridge, held on August 20. 888223-3351; usaprocyclingchallenge.com AP Build a Bike Colorado folks convert their love of cycling into bespoke bikes. Customized bikes have long been associated with high price tags and long build times. But that's not Big Shot builds so anymore. Big Shot customized bikes for less than $500. builds customized, fixedgear, and single-speed bicycles for less than $500, and the bikes are generally shipped within three days of ordering. Customers are able to select from a choice of frame sizes, handlebar styles, and thousands of color combinations, and they can even create their bikes with Big Shot's optimized iPad bike builder application. Matt Peterson, a former software engineer, started the business in 2009 and just sold his 10,000th bike. The company is looking to launch a second "cruiser" model in the fall. "They are fun, fashionable, dependable, affordable bikes you can ride around town and show off to your friends," says Peterson. To get the word out about its product, Big Shot recently embarked on a marketing project with Swarovski wherein it supplied the crystal maker with colorful components, like bike chains, which Swarovski then customized. 106 N. Link Lane, Fort Collins, 866-971-2477; bigshotbikes.com ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 140-143_AP_FEAT_RoadWarriors_Sum_Fall_13.indd 143 143 5/6/13 11:01 AM