Hannah North at 1975 Red Zinger Bicycle Classic

The Red Zinger Bicycle Classic (1975–1979) was a

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

stage race.

History

In 1975, Mo Siegel and John and Wyck Hay, founders of the

Celestial Seasonings Celestial Seasonings is an American tea company based in Boulder, Colorado, United States, that specializes in herbal teas (properly called "tisanes"), but also sells green, white, black, and chai teas. As of 2006, the company's annual gross s ...

herbal tea company, launched the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic race to promote alternative transportation in the Greater Boulder area, particularly bike lanes, bike paths, and community awareness. The Classic was named after their popular Red Zinger tea. In 1979, Michael Aisner, the race's then PR director, bought the race for one dollar from Siegel, and with his blessing took the idea of a grander event to Peter Coors, the

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

impresario. Over the next 8 years, the Coors International Bicycle Classic grew into two weeks of racing in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, with stages in some years in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. From 1981-1992 a youth bicycling series called the

Red Zinger Mini Classics Red Zinger Mini Classics (RZMC) is a series of youth boys and girls road bicycle races held annually across the state of Colorado from 1981 to 1992, and revived again in 2010. The RZMC races served as an opportunity for young cyclists to get invo ...

was held in Colorado, its name inspired by the original Red Zinger Bicycle Classic, inspiring a generation of young cyclists to enter the sport. Criterium stage of 1975 Red Zinger Bicycle Classic

Winners

* 1975 -

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

, Hannah North * 1976 -

, (no women's division) * 1977 -

Wayne Stetina Wayne Douglas Stetina (born December 4, 1953) is a former American cyclist. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics. He is the brother of Dale, Joel and Troy Stetina and the uncle of Peter Stetina. Major results ;1972 ...

Connie Carpenter Connie Carpenter-Phinney (born February 26, 1957) is an American retired racing cyclist and speed skater who won four medals in World Cycling Championship competitions (both road and track cycling) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She also won ...

* 1978 -

George Mount George Lewis Mount (born September 14, 1955
) is an American Olympic and profe ...

, Keetie van Oosten-Hage * 1979 -

Dale Stetina Dale Stetina (born July 9, 1956) is an American former racing cyclist, who competed in the late 1970s through the 1980s. He is a two-time U.S. National Road Champion and two-time winner of one of the Coors Classic held in Boulder, Colorado. H ...

, Keetie van Oosten-Hage

Notes

{{Reflist Cycle races in the United States Defunct cycling races in the United States Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1978 Recurring sporting events established in 1975 1975 establishments in Colorado Men's road bicycle races Women's road bicycle races 1978 disestablishments in Colorado