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Iron Horse race has new leader

After 43 Years, Ed Zink steps down as president; Chris Vivolo to step in

In a change several years in the making, Ed Zink, who has been at the helm of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic since its inaugural running in 1972, is stepping down as president of the board.

Also, Gaige Sippy will return as the long-running event’s director, the board announced Wednesday.

Chris Vivolo, a long-time volunteer and board member and the Iron Horse’s transportation director for nearly three decades, will take over as board president. Zink will stay on as a board member.

The changes occur after 2014’s event was chopped in half because of the threat of inclement weather preceding the 50-mile race and ride from Durango to Silverton. The decision to cut the race short was made the afternoon before the event, and ultimately the weather turned out to be decent, leaving some of the 3,000 registered competitors and riders upset with the decision.

But the shuffling had little to do with how the event went in 2014, Zink said in an interview Wednesday that included Vivolo and Sippy. Zink said his plans to step aside were put on hold for a couple of years as Vivolo supervised remodeling of the Hampton Inn, which Vivolo owns.

“We’ve tried to figure out what’s best for the Iron Horse,” Zink said. “This seemed a good time.”

Sippy’s return – he was director from 2007 through 2013 – gives some stability to the event, which attracted about 4,000 total entrants in 2013.

After Sippy left the post, Jeff Frost took his place in November 2013 for the 2014 event.

“A year reprieve gives you a different perspective,” said Sippy, 46. “You see it from lots of different angles.”

Frost, who had the misfortune of having to deal with bad weather in his first event, was “not quite the right fit,” Zink said. There was no one incident that led to his departure, and Zink lauded Frost’s excellent logistical skills. Frost, contacted Wednesday afternoon, said he expected to be given longer than six to eight months to fit into the job.

“The disappointment you hear in my voice is I wasn’t given more time,” Frost said. “I knew there were going to be some challenges.”

Frost said he loves the event, now calls Durango home and plans to volunteer. He emphasized that Sippy is a “great choice” as his replacement and also lauded Vivolo.

The Iron Horse suffered through other bad weather years, including 1996, when most citizen riders were caught in a snowstorm and were evacuated from the course along U.S. Highway 550. In 1997 and 2008, weather kept all official riders from reaching Silverton.

This May, snow on mountain passes on the Friday before the Iron Horse and questionable forecasts for Saturday led organizers to cut the event short. It ended at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, making it 27 miles instead of 47.

“There’s pressure in this position,” said Zink, 66. “Probably the accumulation of pressure from 43 Iron Horses, a world championship, a World Cup, 21 national championships ... there’s a bit of scar tissue develops from each crisis or each issue.

“The cumulative effect of that is why you need succession planning.”

The Iron Horse is Colorado’s longest-running cycling event and either the second- or third-longest-running in the country, depending on who’s counting.

Interestingly, Vivolo, 56, is from the area that boasts the longest-running race, the Tour of Somerville in New Jersey. He rode the Somerville race in 1975, and his family owned three bike shops in the area.

Vivolo has been heavily involved in the Iron Horse since about 1985. He has coordinated the Iron Horse’s relationship with the cancer support group Livestrong Foundation, which raises money off Iron Horse entries and shares it with the Durango community.

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel here,” Vivolo said. “We have one goal. It’s to make this continue to be as successful as it is and keep it going for as long as we can.”

Vivolo said that the Iron Horse is a “huge entity” that has survived by continuing to change with the times.

“I think it’s exciting,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a highly acclaimed event, and I’m pleased and honored to be in this position.”

As well as the changes in positions, the board is undergoing some restructuring. It recently added two members and may add a third.

Vivolo and Sippy both said that although Zink’s position is changing, the owner of Mountain Bike Specialists will be leaned on heavily.

“Ed has done his heavy lifting,” Sippy said. “We will continue to heavy lift with the help of Ed to try to make sure it goes on.”

Said Zink: “It’s been a wonderful, wonderful experience. ... I am excited about the future, and good things will continue to happen.”

johnp@durangoherald.com



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