Vail will host opening two days of 2018 Colorado Classic

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The Colorado Classic has announced the cities that will host the race in 2018, with Vail slated for the opening two stages of the four-day event before the race moves to Denver for stages 3 and 4.

In a post on Facebook, organisers for the 2.HC race that is schedule for August 16-19 said both men's and women's races will start in Vail and then return to Denver's RiNo, River North Art District, on August 18 and 19. The race also announced the return of Velorama, the three-day music and "fanfest" in the RiNo District, with an additional music festival in Vail. In 2017, the concert line-up include Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie, among others.

"There are many details to be worked out, so stay tuned for more information about routes, teams, bands, changes at Velorama, and more in the coming months! We can’t wait!" Organisers wrote on the race's Facebook page.

The Colorado Classic will be in its second year in 2018 after making its debut this year. The four-day race started this year in Colorado Springs before moving to Breckenridge and then Denver for the final two days. Extreme weather battered the race's opening day in 2017, hampering TV coverage.

BMC Racing's Manuel Senni, the 2017 overall winner, took the lead from Holowesko-Citadel's TJ Eisenhart on stage 3 to Denver, making it into a successful two-man breakaway with eventual stage winner Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly-Maxxis).

The race moved back one week for 2018, following the lead of the Tour of Utah, which will run August 6-12.