The 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was the inaugural edition of the

USA Pro Cycling Challenge The USA Pro Cycling Challenge, also known as USA Pro Challenge, was an annual multi-day professional road bicycle racing stage race that first took place in Colorado in 2011. Originally announced on August 4, 2010 by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter ...

stage race. The race was held from August 22–28, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the

UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

. The race began with a short prologue time trial in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

, wound its way through the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

at heights of up to , and finished in the streets of downtown

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Participating teams

Included in the participating team rosters were the top three

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of Tour de France, the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 2 ...

riders

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration fo ...

and

Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for and . Schleck is the older brother of Andy Schleck, Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. ...

. The full team list included: ;UCI ProTeams * * * * * * * * ;UCI Professional Continental Teams * * * * ;UCI Continental Teams * * * * *

Stages

Prologue

August 22, 2011 —

, The opening time trial for the race began in the

Garden of the Gods Garden of the Gods (Arapaho: ''Ho3o’uu Niitko’usi’i'') is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. of the park was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971. Name The area now known as Garden of the ...

national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.

Stage 1

August 23, 2011 — Salida to

Crested Butte Crested Butte is a prominent mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is in Gunnison National Forest, northeast by east ( bearing 59°) of the Town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, C ...

, The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending over

Monarch Pass Monarch Pass (elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. Location and basic details The pass is located on the Continental Divide at the southern end of the Sawatch Range alon ...

and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of Mount Crested Butte.

Stage 2

August 24, 2011 — Gunnison to

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

, The

queen stage This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...

involved nearly of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of Cottonwood Pass, and to Independence Pass.

Stage 3

August 25, 2011 —

Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the nume ...

, Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with of climbing over only . The route was the same one used during time trials for the

Coors Classic The Coors International Bicycle Classic (1980–1988) was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor; the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in ...

in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by Ben Day.

Stage 4

August 26, 2011 — Avon to Steamboat Springs, This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.

Stage 5

August 27, 2011 — Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended

Rabbit Ears Pass Rabbit Ears Pass (el. 9426 ft, 2873 m) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States, where U.S. Route 40 crosses the Park Range (Colorado). North of the summit is Rabbit Ears Peak which has ...

, a steep pass with about of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.

Stage 6

August 28, 2011 — Golden to

, The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film

American Flyers ''American Flyers'' is a 1985 American sports drama film about bicycle racing. It was directed by John Badham and written by Steve Tesich, The film stars Kevin Costner, David Marshall Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul, Jennifer Grey, Luc ...

. Riders climbed

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "La ...

, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC.

Participating teams

Stages

Prologue

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Classification leadership

General classification

Notes

External links