The Colorado Classic professional cycling race this summer has "added a ticketed music festival to the four-day event to ensure the race breaks even," according to Monica Mendoza of the DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL. The Colorado Classic replaces the USA Pro Challenge, which ran through the state from '11-15. That race, "backed by big name sponsors including Smashburger, never made money." This year's Colorado Classic will feature musical artists Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie, and organizers are hopeful that the bands will "draw in as many as 30,000 fans a day." RPM Events Group Chair Ken Gart, whose group is organizing the event, said that it is the first time a professional cycling race has "combined a ticketed-event with free race watching." Organizers said that there will be a "few hundred craft vendors, and a group of Colorado brewers will be the exclusive beverage providers for the event in all the cities -- something unique for an event of this size." The race will be shorter than the USA Pro Challenge, "down from seven days to four" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/1). In Denver, Worthington, Blevins & Owens note the Colorado Classic's accompanying event will be called the Velorama Colorado festival. The festival will be a "large-scale community event that incorporates three days of music, a beer garden, a local flea market and a bike expo with the race acting as the centerpiece." Some European races also have "embraced festivals." The race will still be free along portions of its Denver route, but organizers are "betting that people will pay to watch some of the sport’s top athletes zip across the finish line ... and for the chance to mosey a few blocks over to the festival grounds" (DENVER POST, 3/2).
