Cadel Evans (BMC) chats with 7-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) on the start line. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Expectation is mounting ahead of further details regarding the Tour of Colorado, which is said to be scheduled for late August of 2011. On the eve of the formal announcement the Denver Post has indicated the naming rights sponsor will be Quiznos.
Quiznos, a popular Denver-based sandwich shop, is a likely candidate for the role of title sponsorship. According to the Denver Post the title of the Quiznos Pro Challenge was confirmed through trademarkia.com.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has expressed an interest a bringing a stage race like the Coors Classic, held between 1979 and 1988, back to Colorado. He met with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter last year to build support for a proposed event in 2011, and will hold a press conference with Ritter later today.
"Basically I told [Ritter], from an exposure and economic and enthusiasm standpoint, the state of Colorado should have a bike race," said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Team Garmin-Transitions in the Denver Post article.
"It's ridiculous that California has the biggest race in the US, and Colorado only has a couple of medium-level local events," he added.
In recent years UCI racing in America has been promoted and subsequently demoted, with several events such as the Tour de Georgia and Tour of Missouri - both managed by Medalist Sport, LLC - and the Tour de New York.
The Amgen Tour of California remains the most successful UCI-ranked race on the North American continent.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
