Cycling fans in Colorado and Virginia "could see pro racing return to their respective states" in '17 in the "form of two four-day stage races that are owned and operated by the same company," according to Fred Dreier of VELO NEWS. The company, Colorado-based RPM Events Group, said that it has "organized eight private investors to fund the entire project." The ownership group includes Colorado's Gart family, Liberty Global, Denver businessman David Koff and Ben Walton, a grandchild of Walmart Founder Sam Walton. RPM Events COO Tim Miller "pegged the total budget for the project in the mid seven figures." Miller said that the project's "overall budget" will be between that of the cancelled USA Pro Challenge, which cost approximately $10M each year to organize, and the Tour of Utah, which race Chair Steve Miller recently pegged in the $3.5M range (VELONEWS.com, 9/20). In Colorado Springs, Nathan Van Dyne notes the potential race "would fill the void left by the USA Pro Challenge," the seven-day race in Colorado that ran from '11-15. RPM Events "promises a fresh approach to bike racing by integrating live music acts, athlete interaction, a festival and mass-participation events for amateur cyclists." The Pro Challenge "suffered losses" of about $20M in five years. Under RPM Events' "'hub-and-spoke' model, Denver then would serve as the start/finish line for most of the stages in Colorado, with perhaps a one-off stage in the mountains" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 9/21).
