Inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge Results in $83.5 Million Economic Impact to State of Colorado

94% of Spectators Plan to Return in 2012

DENVER, COLORADO – The inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge attracted more than 1 million spectators from around the state, the country and the world, and the Colorado economy was the beneficiary of $83.5 million in economic impact thanks to a successful first-year event, which took place August 22-28 and visited 11 Colorado host communities. As a virtual postcard for the State of Colorado, the race received 25 hours of national television coverage on NBC and Versus, in addition to airing in 161 countries and territories internationally.

“The crowds were big, they were enthusiastic, they spent money in every host city, and just as importantly, they traveled to Colorado especially to see this race,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO and Co-Chairman of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. “More than 22% of the 1,000,000+ spectators at our race visited us from outside Colorado. And with 94% reporting they will return next year, that’s a tremendous benefit for the State of Colorado in 2011 and in the future.”

The 2011 race attracted spectators from at least 39 states in the nation, and at least 16 other countries. It also proved an unprecedented following among Colorado residents, one of the significant contributing factors to the level of enthusiasm displayed by spectators along the entire 518-mile course.

More than $67 million came in the form of direct spending by traveling spectators. Both those fans from outside the state and Coloradans traveling 50 miles or more to take in an event stage contributed $67.4 million on lodging, food, transportation and entertainment. The remaining economic impact comes in the form of team, staff, sponsor and vendor spending, employment created by the event, and the resulting tax effects of the race.

Today's Coffee Talk Tuesday Discussion deals with measuring the growth of the sport of cycling. This is a hot topic these days with all the categories and possible USAC merger.. Give us your 2 or 3 cents on this topic!

This weekend I had an awesome time of not driving 60 minutes to watch the USGP race but instead saw the live streaming from cyclingdirt.com. While watching, one of the commentators (not Peter Webber, but the other guy) mentioned something about how you can see how the sport is really growing when you see riders like Yannick Eckmann be such a successful rider at only the age of 18.

Yannick is a great rider, he finished 5th on Saturday beating big names in the field and coming back on Sunday to also do well. If Yannick continues to improve like he has then I very much believe he could be the next Ryan Trebon, J-Pow or Tim Johnson.

But does Yannick's success = growth?

If David Towle had attended today's Colorado High School Race #2 at Snow Mountain Ranch in Tabernash he'd say, "Call the CDC, looks like we have an epidemic of bike racing today!" High School Mountain bike racing has clearly become contagious in Colorado as they have had over 100% growth from the year before and some schools like Fairview High in Boulder went from having 4 coaches and 2 racers in 2010 to 6 coaches and 16 racers in 2011!

Thanks to Kate Rau's influential personality I went to the race, honestly, somewhat reluctantly since that meant ditching on Frisco Cyclocross race but since I it was just down the road from Winter Park I really had no excuse. Expecting a handful of racers I was QUICKLY surprised by the crowds as I entered the race area. There were racers everywhere and to top it off there were spectators, lots of spectators!

From Snow Mountain Ranch High School MTB Race #2

From a spectators point of view this race was as big as any big cycling event put on in Colorado like Denver City Park Criterium, Koppenberg or even Boulder Cup! Unlike many races where you show up, kit up, race and leave here the kids and families are there nearly all day either racing or cheering on the racers.... and not just their teams but everyone. Simply put, the racing community could learn a lot from how these teams operate and how the race obtains such a high spectators to racer ratio.

One of the big upsets of the day came from one of the Boulder squads with a first time varsity racer on the Boulder Fairview squad killing it in the girls field beating out the Boulder High team who were the winners from last week's race. Asked how the race went she said it was hard racing but she knew who she had to beat, stayed focused on those racers. In the end it didn’t matter because she was the one they were watching but only for awhile as she had apparent won the field by over 3 minutes. Did I mention she is a freshman?

Overall it was a wonderful day of racing under truly picture perfect conditions, results can be found on on their website and some photos . Special thanks to Wheat Ridge Cyclery who were out there providing neutral support to the riders (something you don’t always see at races) and of course thanks to all the kids and parents who made the choice to a healthy and fun competitive activity of mountain bike racing! See you all Oct 16 race #3!

Photos
- ColoradoMTB

Related Stories
- Colorado High School MTB Race #1

From the ACA Website

Board Recommendation on USAC situation

September 29, 2011

Based on feedback from our clubs, the ACA Board of Directors recommends that the ACA does not pursue reintegration with USAC at this time.

The ACA and USAC have very different ideas about how a local organization should function. The ACA believes that its members are best served by paid staff who are focused on continual improvement, and that this work is fundamental to the high quality of racing in Colorado. USAC's Local Association model relies on volunteers at the local level. USAC wants the ACA to join the national organization, but to date has not provided a solution to the approximately $100,000 annual income shortfall that this reintegration would cost the ACA. Our members, which include individuals, families, clubs, promoters, officials and mechanics, are our most important asset, and the ACA board believes that this financial shortfall would cripple the ACA's ability to function in the manner that our members deserve. The ACA continues to explore new sources of funding, but the Board cannot risk the organization's survival by making a decision without first securing the necessary financial security.