August race to charge entry fees, include top musical acts and flea market
Downtown Denver looms for overall race winner Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and stage winner Peter Sagan (Cannondale). (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The state of Colorado is reinventing the bike race, blending a four-stage men's UCI event, two-day, three-stage women's race and a large festival that will include major music acts including Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie in the final host city of Denver's RiNo arts district.
The Velorama Colorado marks a new approach to creating a financially stable platform for bike races, one that will create revenue through ticket sales. The Velorama will cost $25 per day for a limited number of early ticket sales, going up to $35 for advance tickets and $45 on the day of the events.
The race will not follow the grand point-to-point model of the USA Pro Challenge, instead it will feature three local circuits - the first from Colorado Springs on August 10, then Breckenridge the next day, and an out-and-back course from Denver on August 12. The final stage will be a city circuit in Denver.
The women's race will take place over two days, with the opening stage in Colorado Springs on August 10, a morning race in Breckenridge on the 11th followed by a night criterium in Denver the same day.
The women's criterium in the RiNo arts district kicks off the "Velorama Colorado" festival, with Wilco headlining the music venue on the 11th with New Pornographers and La Santa Cecilia. Death Cab for Cutie plays on Saturday with Saint Motel. The festival also includes an arts and flea market, bike expo, food and drinks and bicycle events for amateurs and children.
The festival atmosphere will extend to Colorado Springs and Breckenridge, which have free live music planned for their race days.
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