UPCC News Round-up, 10/7/11

Leipheimer after Vail TT win, 2011 UPCC (Mary Topping)

The biggest news this past week:

Levi Leipheimer plans to return to Colorado with his new Omega Pharma — Quick-Step team to defend his inaugural edition win. And he’s extremely confident. Referring to the Tours of California, Utah, and Colorado, he said in a recent video, “I’ve won those races in the past and I’ll continue to do so.” A Bicycling.com article* said Tony Martin will “join Leipheimer as co-captain in one- and three-week races such as Paris-Nice, the Dauphiné Libéré, the Tour of California, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the Tour de France.”

Cities that have in the past week committed to submitting a bid as host city for 2012:

• Montrose. The city has not decided which type of stage / start / finish to pitch.
• Durango. This popular cycling venue previously expressed concerns about whether hosting the UPCC would jeopardize the success of their established Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. The 2012 Iron Horse will run from May 26^th to the 28^th. The city plans to bid for the stage 1 start and has draft an 83-page proposal to support its bid. An offer of $160,000 from the city to help fund the host city’s cost should impress the organizers.

Who knew? Counties regulate helicopter use:

An Aspen Times article mentioned issues with Pitkin County regarding helicopters.  Apparently the county needed to approve the use of a helicopter and hadn’t been informed until late in the planning process. This is another example of how putting on the race as a host city isn’t easy; it involves collaboration with multiple entities.

Introducing a new host city requirement, a commemorative monument:

The cost of hosting the UPCC has gone up. The RFP for 2012 says, “The Host City is required to produce and display a permanent monument or iconic representation of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge to commemorate the presence of the Tour. Examples include wrapping a gondola car, painting a mural on the side of a building, erecting a statue, etc.”

Boulder seems to be a step ahead of the game if it can parlay the planned cycling monument for North Boulder Park, near the finish line of the historic Red Zinger/Coors Classic, into meeting this condition. Supporters are accepting donations via kickstarter.com. While statements on this website probably don’t speak for the city (the monument is a project of PLAY Boulder), Boulder seems pretty confident about its chances of being selected for 2012: “The total funding goal for construction is $215K. If funding is complete by May 2012 we can unveil [the monument] at the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge in August!”

*10/20/11 update: the Bicycling.com article found at the time this post was written now seems to be unavailable online.