Seventeen teams from seven countries will kick off the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado Springs later today. The week-long stage race will go through towns like Salida, Crested Butte, Aspen and Vail—ending in Denver on Sunday. The challenging course is attracting elite athletes in the sport, including the top three finishers from the Tour de France.
“We think this has potential to be not only Colorado’s biggest spectator event ever, but one of the biggest spectator events in America,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the race.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to line up and camp out along the race route as it travels through 11 different communities. That means non-race fans and travelers can expect traffic delays and in some cases hour-long roadblocks.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is advising drivers to familiarize themselves with the race route.
View USA Pro Cycling Challenge Prologue in a larger map
