I Ride, I Write

Bart G must be salivating at the prospect.

Cyclingnews.com has a report of a new mountain bike stage race in Colorado. It’s not official yet, but could be on the calendar soon.

The popularity of multi-day off-road stage racing is on the rise, with events in Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, South Africa, France, Austria and Italy, just to name a few. Soon the United States may be able to add to the list. Planning is underway for a new event in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

“We’ve been talking about it for 18 months. We’re far along in the planning work,” said Michael McCormack, Director of Bigfoot Productions, the same company that hosts the Mountain States Cup Events in and near Colorado. “We’re in Colorado and the whole state is a destination in mountain biking. There are amazing trails with unbelievable access.”

A first edition of the race is possible for 2008 or 2009, but whether it happens at all hinges on winning the approval of land managers and the local trail user community. . .

. . . Expect a race of almost all singletrack covering 250 to 300 miles sometime in late July. The organizers are looking at possible trails in Summit County, Park County, Chaffee County and Eagle County. Thanks to the legacy left behind by those in pursuit of precious metals in the 1850s and 1860s, there is a network of roads and trails throughout the area.

Hope it happens.