USA Pro Challenge Rolls Into Boulder
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Millions of cycling enthusiasts around the world were watching Boulder on Saturday as the USA Pro Challenge rolled into town.
The cyclists kicked off stage six in Golden. They made two passes through Boulder to finish atop Flagstaff Mountain.
As soon as the racers came into sight fans began cheering and ringing cowbells. There were so many people lining the streets the racers only had a narrow lane to pass through.
The streets were filled with three to four times the number of bikes on a normal day.
"This week, the buildup to today has been exceptional. There are people that we talked to from all over the United States," Boulder City Councilman and business owner George Karakehian said.
Karakehian owns Art Source International on Pearl Street. He said the race has positively impacted business for several days.
"I think the downtown businesses aren't sure what's going to happen today. We're expecting lots of people but we don't know what they are going to be doing. They're obviously going to eat and drink," Karakehian said.
Local vender Javier Pujals owns Beans, Inc. His cart, which is set up right on Pearl Street, attracted more customers than usual.
"People have been coming to town as the week progressed. So yesterday it got a little busier and today should be pretty exciting," Pujals said. "There's been a lot of people already."
The city poured a lot of resources in the USA Pro Challenge to make sure the appropriate streets were shut down and safe.
"I just really love cycling and it's exciting to have this come through town," a spectator said.
The city also says the event is priceless marketing because there were so many people visiting from out of state
The USA Pro Challenge bike race wraps up Sunday in Denver.
