Colorado's Copper Triangle is a cycling route for road cyclists. The route begins at

Copper Mountain, Colorado Copper Mountain is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Summit County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population of th ...

, and follows State Highway 91 south to US Highway 24, just before reaching

Leadville, Colorado The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

. Heading north on 24, the route continues on to Interstate 70 and after passing

Minturn, Colorado Minturn is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,027 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Minturn is located in southeastern Eagle County on the Eagle River between the resort com ...

, follows a bicycle path back to Copper Mountain along the interstate. The route may be started at any point on the circuit, though parking might be easier to come by in the Copper Mountain area. This circuit covers approximately of road and four mountain passes: Fremont Pass, Tennessee Pass,

Battle Mountain Pass A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and fo ...

and

Vail Pass Vail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. The pass was named for Charles Vail, a highway engineer and director of the Colorado State Highway Department from 1930 to 1945. Vail Pass lies on the boundary between ...

The route and elevation profile can no longer be seen here
The total elevation climb during the circuit is approximately . Three mountain ranges are passed through, Tenmile, Gore and Sawatch, and the route travels past the historic

Camp Hale Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley, it was named for ...

, used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in t ...

, to train soldiers during World War II. The Copper Triangle is a popular route for bicycling enthusiasts, and hosts the annual

Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle 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 th ...

cycling event. This event is a benefit ride that supports the

Davis Phinney Foundation The Davis Phinney Foundation is a non-profit with a mission to help people with Parkinson's live well with the disease. It was founded in 2004 by Davis Phinney, a former professional road bicycle racer and Olympic medal winner. Today, Davis is an ...

. This foundation was created by namesake,

Davis Phinney Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He won 328 races in the 1980s and 1990s, a record for an American, including two Tour de France stages. He has worked in media since retiring ...

, a former professional road bicycle racer after having been diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at the age of 40. The Davis Phinney Foundation supports medical research to improve the lives of those with Parkinson's. The Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle event is sponsored by

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

Crocs Crocs, Inc. (stylized in all lowercase) is an American footwear company based in Broomfield, Colorado, that manufactures and markets the Crocs brand of foam clogs. History Crocs was founded by Lyndon "Duke" Hanson, and George Boedecker Jr. t ...

Copper Mountain Ski Resort Copper Mountain is a mountain and ski resort located in Summit County, Colorado, about west of Denver on Interstate 70. The resort has of in-bounds terrain under lease from the U.S. Forest Service, White River National Forest, Dillon ...

, The Village at Copper and numerous others, while the title sponsor is Colorado Cyclist. Colorado Cyclist is one of the largest bicycle and bicycle accessory retailers in the United States and is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

References

Copper Mountain Road Biking

Colorado Cyclist Copper TriangleRoute and elevation profile
{{coord missing, Colorado Bike paths in Colorado Transportation in Eagle County, Colorado Transportation in Lake County, Colorado Transportation in Summit County, Colorado Tourist attractions in Eagle County, Colorado Tourist attractions in Lake County, Colorado Tourist attractions in Summit County, Colorado