The 50th anniversary races at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic have already received a lot of interest ahead of the events on Memorial Day weekend.
Director Gaige Sippy said the’ve probably sold more merchandise than ever, and the Classic road races were well on their way to selling out.
“If (people) haven’t registered yet, they should,” Sippy said. “There will be race categories that sell out any day now.”
As of Tuesday, about 250 slots left for two road races from Durango to Silverton and the new one from Ouray to Silverton.
Sippy said they combined the rider slots for the two road races, carving out 300 spots for the ride from Ouray to Silverton, so there will be the same amount of riders on U.S. 550 as in the past. The two rides will take place at the same time May 28.
The ride from Ouray to Silverton will be 23 miles long with 3,300-feet of climbing on Red Mountain Pass, compared with the Durango Coca Cola Road Race to Silverton, which is 47 miles long with 5,700 feet of elevation gain.
“Ouray is pretty excited to be part of it,” Sippy said. “I’m calling them the first graduating class. It will be cool in Silverton with riders finishing from both directions.”
Sippy also said that a lot of people typically register for the rides on New Year’s Day when they make resolutions, which could push some to capacity.
The gravel rides and mountain bike races, meanwhile, are trending about normal, Sippy said, adding that they don’t usually sell out because they don’t have the same capacity restrictions as the road events.
Local registration is also trending about normal this year, even though the cycling celebration at the kickoff party was canceled at the last minute because athletes were uncomfortable being in a closed space amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Sippy said early local registrations numbered about 500, compared with a typical range of 450 to 600. He said they expect the number of participants associated with Durango to climb to about 750 with the balance.
The 50th edition of the Iron Horse also will feature a dual slalom and roostmaster race, composed primarily of pro and elite-level riders.
“We’ll handpick those athletes because a higher level of skill is needed to do those,” Sippy said, comparing them to a past BMX event downtown that was also invite-only.
“That allows us to build a more technical and challenging course,” Sippy said.
Registration and more information at https://www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com/#.
