“What has changed is the town manager in Ouray since we last had conversations,” Sippy said. Sippy said preliminary talks have been held with Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Department of Transportation about a Ouray-to-Silverton ride. Highway 550 is so quiet at that point, I think we can do it.”
“We already have the passes closed going from Durango to Ouray, and most people don’t get on Red Mountain Pass from Ouray to Silverton during those hours because they know they are going to get stopped in Silverton. “I would like to do the Ouray-to-Silverton on the same day we do Durango to Silverton,” Sippy said.
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While a longer pro race from Durango to Ouray isn’t in the cards, the IHBC had been working with Ouray in 2019 to consider an additional IHBC road ride that started in Ouray and finished in Silverton. Perhaps the biggest addition to the 50th could involve the town of Ouray, Silverton’s northern neighbor across Red Mountain Pass. Downtown circuit racing has played a big part in the IHBC in previous years and could make a comeback after a multiple-year hiatus for the 50th anniversary event in 2022. Bringing that and the downhill stuff at Chapman Hill back for the 50th, it’s going to be a great way to help launch the Iron Horse into its next 50 years, and I hope everyone comes back for that big celebration.”Īlong with the Roostmaster at Chapman Hill, Sippy also aims to bring back dual slalom racing under the lights at the in-town venue.įrom left: Alister Ratcliff, Kip Taylor and Christopher Blevins in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s pro criterium in 2014. “It suited some of us better than others, like John Tomac and people who had BMX backgrounds. “That was a crazy event being televised and with a big crowd,” said Ned Overend, a former mountain bike world champion and five-time Iron Horse road race winner. After two heats and a final, a champion was crowned. At the end of each circuit, the last three riders across the finish line were eliminated. That event lined up mountain bikers to complete laps on a course that started with a hill climb followed by a downhill slalom, a water jump and then a sprint to the line each lap. That includes the famous “Roostmaster” on Chapman Hill, which was televised in 1993 by Prime Sports Network and by ESPN in 1994. The one-of-a-kind spectacle could return for the 50th anniversary event in 2022. The Roostmaster mountain bike race at Chapman Hill drew a television audience to Durango during Iron Horse Bicycle Classic weekends in the early 1990s. Always changing through the years to stay on top of the latest trends in the cycling world, many events have come and gone, and some long lost are likely to return for the 50th, even if for only one year.
The IHBC asked for public comment in 2019 on what participants would like to see at a 50th anniversary. Sippy has doubled down on his commitment to the IHBC since the death of his mentor and will aim to bring his vision to life in 2022. Zink had long looked forward to the 50th anniversary before he died of a heart attack in October 2019.
“To have the ability to get the 49th off the ground is fantastic so that we can really get ready for that 50th next year.” It’s good to know now that, from a COVID standpoint, we are in good shape and it won’t stop us from having this 49th event,” said IHBC director Gaige Sippy.
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“We held off opening registration and planning this year as long as possible because the COVID needle kept moving. A toned down 49th edition of the IHBC will now ride on Saturday and Sunday. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 edition of the Memorial Day weekend spectacle that is the second-longest continuing cycling event in the United States. While that golden anniversary should have come this weekend, 50 years after bicyclist Tom Mayer first challenged his brother, Jim, in a race between bike and train from Durango to Silverton, it instead will come in 2022 – 50 years after co-founder Ed Zink first helped Tom Mayer put together a 36-rider event as a kick-start to tourism season. (Courtesy photo)Īs soon as the 45th Iron Horse Bicycle Classic finished in 2016, organizers started to think about the 50th. In 2022, the IHBC will celebrate its 50th event. The picture of the cyclists racing the train helped the event skyrocket in popularity after its first year. Elliott is pictured here racing the train ahead of Tom Mayer, the inspiration behind the race, and Ron Moore. Mike Elliott, front, led the peloton up the valley and won the 1972 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, the first official race.
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