North Valley tab for USA Pro Cycling Challenge $140,000

Seeking sponsorships to showcase the valley

If you think the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is just another bike race, think again.

In August, 128 hard-core bicyclists from around the world will travel 518 miles in what is billed as the highest altitude course ever created and the most challenging in the Untied States. Think Tour de France in Colorado, a brand new race that has the potential to rival the Fourth of July weekend when spectators descend upon Crested Butte on August 23.
With just over six weeks before the big day, the volunteer-based Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is working fast to get all the details in place. Chief among them? Raising $140,000.
“In terms of sponsorships… we have to figure out how to cover the costs of the race,” says LOC member Aaron Huckstep. According to Huckstep, race organizer Medalist Sports foots part of the bill and host cities cover the remainder.
Figuring out those costs is a bit of an educated guess for a brand new race. “You have to know what your costs are, but we’ve never done this before. So we sort of know, and we sort of don’t. We put together a budget that we think is appropriate based on conversations with Medalist,” says Huckstep.
That budget will primarily cover the cost of hosting the racers, event staff and other race affiliates on the first night of the race, after the cyclists have ridden from Salida and through Gunnison to Crested Butte. Gunnison will also act as a host city on day two of the event when riders depart for Aspen via Cottonwood Pass.
“To me it’s fascinating in the difference between the start in Gunnison and the finish,” Huckstep says. “You’re looking at $40,000 to $50,000 in the budget down there and $140,000 up here.”
That difference can in large part be chalked up to putting the race up for a night. According to Huckstep, the LOC needs to arrange 450 hotel rooms in the north end of the valley as well as provide dinner that night and breakfast in the morning. Then there’s the matter of the live television crews, whose trucks all need Internet hookups, and security makes up a small portion of it, too.
Huckstep says the LOC, which includes fellow members Dave Ochs and Karl Trujillo, has raised about $85,000 in pledged contributions so far. Alpine Orthopaedics, the stage sponsor, and Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) are the biggest sponsors to date.
“Alpine Orthopaedics is our stage sponsor, our biggest sponsor. I can’t say enough thanks to [them]. What Alpine Orthopaedics has done for cycling in our valley and will continue to do… they have thrown in monetarily and in kind, and you’ll see them everywhere [on the race day],” Huckstep says.
“CBMR is doing a ton for us in kind, like some of those hotel rooms are being comped, and putting a dollar amount on that is tough to do. The simplest way to say it is that without CBMR this would be a much bigger task, they’ve definitely been instrumental,” Huckstep says.
In addition to Alpine Orthopaedics and CBMR, the town of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte have contributed $20,000 each and many other local businesses are considering sponsorship as well.
Recognizing that the economy has been down and local businesses are frequently hit up for donations, the LOC is working to provide sponsors with as much publicity and coverage as possible, whether that’s banner coverage where it will be picked up on television or the opportunity for the top sponsors to hand out awards on stage. According to Huckstep, they’re also working to remind sponsors that this will be more than just a bike race. It is Crested Butte, after all.
There will be a handcycling event in partnership with the Adaptive Sports Center, and plans are in the works for a Townie Crit, with a rumored stretch through the Talk of the Town (helmets required; adult beverages optional). Add the Monday night Alpenglow and summer festivities, and the hope is to provide a festival-like atmosphere.
As for the work that remains in raising money and getting the details in place, Huckstep is optimistic.
“A lot of businesses want to be involved, so we’ll keep plugging away at it. At the end of the day, this is going to showcase our valley. I think it’s really important to put into perspective… it’s not like you’re going to get a return right then and there,” Huckstep said. “But imagine, when we’re talking helicopters now we’re not talking about moly mining. We’re talking about helicopters with cameras on them. Imagine the view you get coming up the valley on the road. Now pop yourself up a couple hundred feet and imagine that video being broadcast around the world.”