The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Lance Armstrong has officially been invited to defend his title”
It was a prolific inaugural Alpine Odyssey bike race last year as local rider Travis Scheefer went toe-to-toe with biking bigwig Lance Armstrong.
Ultimately, Armstrong won the 64-mile tour of the high alpine in a time of four hours, 31 minutes.
This year, the Alpine Odyssey date was moved. Rather than run the race as a qualifier for the 2012 Leadville 100, organizers at Lifetime Fitness decided to push it back to September 15 and use it as a qualifier for the 2013 Leadville 100 bike race.
“They assured us that the race after the ‘big race’ sees big numbers,” says local race director Dave Ochs.
As of this week, the race has 200 riders signed up and Ochs hopes to hit the 300 number just like last year.
One rider in particular could bring the number up, Armstrong, and organizers have “unsanctioned” the race so Armstrong can compete if he so chooses.
“Lance Armstrong has officially been invited to defend his title,” says Ochs.
The course has been tweaked a bit from last year. It starts at CBMR at 9 a.m. with a neutral start down Gothic Road when it will make the hard right turn onto Slate River Road.
“Once they hit that first cattle guard, the race is on,” says Ochs.
From there, riders head out the Slate, up the Slate d’Huez through Paradise Divide, over Schofield Pass and down through the town of Gothic. After climbing out of Gothic, riders get hit with some singletrack as they head onto Crested Butte Mountain to ride up Meander and down Columbine and Warming House Hill and through the base area.
Then it’s back to the high country again via Washington Gulch, Paradise Divide and Schofield Pass finishing again on Meander, Columbine, Warming House Hill and at the base area for a total of 62.5 miles.
There will be fully stocked GU aid stations, Alpine Orthopaedics out in medical, and rider, force but the race needs more help.
“We need people bad to help out,” says Ochs. “Especially course marshals for assistance and to get the racers through the course. We’ll have free food and beer, a T-shirt and some schwag for volunteers.”
To volunteer contact Dave Ochs at 349-7324. To register for the race you can go online at leadvilleraceseries.com. Or you can register in person on Friday, September 14 from noon to 7 p.m. or the day of the race from 7-8:30 a.m. at the Elevation Hotel at the base area.
If you place high in your category you gain automatic entry to the 2013 Leadville 100. If you post a time under eight hours, you get thrown into the lottery for a shot at making the 2013 Leadville 100.
