Written by: Press Release
Posted: Tuesday, 01 July 2008
In a move that’s unprecedented for the Vail Valley
Foundation, the organization has been forced to pull the plug on the inaugural
Colorado Stage International Cycle Classic road bike race scheduled for August
22-24, 2008.
“When requesting the event be placed on the UCI [Union
Cycliste Internationale] calendar, we recognized the challenges facing us in
finding enough sponsorship support,” explained Ceil Folz, President of the Vail
Valley Foundation. “The declining
economic picture has made these efforts increasingly difficult, and the final
straw came last week when we were not able to close a deal with a presenting sponsor.”
An event the magnitude of the Colorado Stage requires a
budget of nearly $2 million, says Folz. While that budget has been pared back
significantly, the remaining shortfall was too large for the Vail Valley
Foundation to absorb.
“Having to cancel the Colorado Stage is incredibly
disappointing,” Folz continued, “because so many people have worked so hard to
try and make it a reality. I know
that a tremendous amount of interest has been generated in bringing
major international road cycling back to Colorado, but we felt that delaying
our decision any later would be unfair to the teams and sponsors that have
already committed. A major bike
race requires major corporate partners, and enough of those were just not in
place.”
Support from the community has been enormous, led by the
Town of Vail and the Beaver Creek Resort Company. Vail’s Mayor, Dick Cleveland released a statement Monday
evening saying, “We’re obviously disappointed the event won’t happen here this
summer as planned, but we’re optimistic we’ll have the opportunity to host the
races in Vail when the time is right. The Vail Valley Foundation is an
extraordinary partner of the Vail community and we commend the Foundation’s
board and staff for the multitude of work that has taken place thus far to
ensure the Colorado Stage would have been an event to remember. We’re hoping
the legwork and coordination will be put to good use in the future, not only
for this event, but for other world class activities we’ve come to expect from
the Foundation and its longstanding reputation for excellence.”
John Garnsey, Executive Vice President of Vail Resorts’
Mountain Division added, “We understand and support the Vail Valley
Foundation’s decision to not move forward with the Colorado Stage bike
race. For 27 years, the Foundation
has produced international-caliber events here in the Vail Valley, and we’re
sure that when the time is right, our community will once again turn to the
Foundation to lead the way.”
The Colorado Stage, a three-stage cycling race, was
scheduled to feature a 135-mile road race from Breckenridge to Beaver Creek, a
72-mile circuit race in and around Vail Village and a 10-mile individual time
trial from Vail Village to the East Vail cul de sac.
“I am confident that our team did all they could to make
this dream a reality, and we’re so thankful to our partners who have committed
and worked so hard up to this point.
We are deeply disappointed to have had to make this decision, and we
thank the cycling community for its understanding,” Folz concluded. “We believe in the sport of cycling,
but feel the conditions were not right for it to be successful here at this
time. We will continue to work with USA Cycling and UCI to determine the best
methods and strategies to once again bring professional cycling back to the
Vail Valley and Colorado.”
Sean Petty, CEO of USA Cycling echoed Folz’s sentiments, “I
am hopeful and confident that we will have a major international cycling event
in Vail in the very near future. We are grateful for all VVF has done over the
years for cycling in the United States and worldwide.”
The Vail Valley Foundation is non-profit organization with a
mission to enhance and sustain the spirit of the Vail
Valley by providing leadership in educational, athletic and cultural
endeavors. The organization
produces the Birds of Prey world cup ski races, the Honda Session snowboard
invitational, the American Ski Classic, the Vail International Dance Festival, as
well as year-round free concert series.
The Foundation is the managing organization of the Gerald R. Ford
Amphitheater and the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek, in addition
to funding several educational initiatives for Eagle County students. For more information on all Vail Valley
Foundation events, visit vvf.org.
In the spirit of this election year, as candidates local and national are out campaigning and the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Denver end of this month, we decided to check in with busy politicians around our active state to hear how they stay fit and healthy. 
