About the Tour                                     Updated on  November 30, 2011

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                          Recent history updated November 30, 2011

                                                              What is the Tour of Colorado?

1. “Tour of Colorado” is a Trade Name registered with the Colorado Secretary of State by Sand Creek Sports,

     Inc. This was done in April of 2005. The domain name of “tourofcolorado.com” also belongs to

     Sand Creek Sports, Inc.

2. The Tour of Colorado has been a series of top road races, stage races, omnium's, criterium's and hill climbs

     with final overall jerseys awarded to the overall winners in several classes.

                                                Past History 2005-Present

In the summer of 2005, Sand Creek Sports, Inc. began discussions with a Colorado Springs advertising and marketing firm about the development of a Tour of Colorado. For various reasons, that didn't work out but the firm is still very interested and hopeful that someday, a large event will happen. We remain on very good terms.

In the fall of 2006 a brief meeting was held in downtown Colorado Springs with Steve Brunner, the marketing person for the number one stage race producer in the US. He actually lives here in Colorado Springs. That meeting resulted in two meetings in 2007 at the Colorado State Government level.

The first of these two meetings took place in June of 2007 in the Governor’s Office at the State Capital. The second, a month later with the Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, also in Denver.

While it was always the intention that Sand Creek Sports, Inc. would license the Tour of Colorado to an organization that could produce an International stage race, that was not to be. The funding and logistics are huge undertakings and the firm we had hoped to work with was just too busy and had taken on a 3-day International race in August of 2008 in Colorado which has since been canceled.

So, with Sand Creek Sports, Inc. wanting to bring racing to Colorado, it was decided to it ourselves.

For 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 the Tour of Colorado has been, and is a series of existing Colorado races.

Sand Creek Sports, Inc. has promised the Tour of Colorado race organizers very little. But, everyone involved will work very hard to make each race a success. 

During 2009, Lance Armstrong and Colorado's Governor Bill Ritter had discussions about bringing a major International stage race to Colorado in 2011. In September of 2009, Sand Creek Sports received a call from a Denver, CO area attorney who found us through the Colorado Secretary of State's web site by doing a "Tour of Colorado" search. He said the Governor has asked several people to form an informal and volunteer "task force
(my term) to look into the possibility of organizing a 2011 race and asked if the "Tour of Colorado" Trade Name was available to them.   I met with two of the individuals in Denver in November and confirmed that the Trade Name was available but that terms would have to be worked out or "make me an offer."  They were to get organized and contact me in a few months.  I have had several e-mails and phone conversations and was told recently (this paragraph is being written in March, 2010) that "progress is being made" or words to that effect. This group has registered several a similar Trade Name(s).

During the Summer of 2010 one of Gov. Ritter's committee members told me they were now pretty much "out of the loop" and that the "Tour of Colorado" name would not be pursued.  However, they were clearly not "out of the loop."  Medalist Sports in August of 2010 confirmed that the "Tour of Colorado" name would not be needed.  So, when the current Colorado stage race sponsors leave the sport, then what?

I had met again with Steve Brunner in late July/early August of 2009 at a downtown Colorado Springs coffee shop.  He had just the day before, received a draft agreement from the Quiznos people to be the marketing person for the 2010 race.   He asked me if I could arrange a meeting with several key people in the Colorado Springs Visitors and Convention Bureau to explain marketing.  He also said that I was a logical person to the local organizing committee chair, at least to get things going. 

I contacted the Visitor's Bureau and they said that, "Yes", I was the logical person to be the local organizing committee person and could budget maybe $1,000 for this position.  I arranged that meeting with Steve Brunner, two or so people from the Visitor's Bureau and myself.

The meeting was set in August.  As I walked into the lobby of the Visitor's Bureau, I was met by Steve Brunner and Terry Sullivan, CEO of the Visitor's Bureau, now retired.  The meeting room, of which only a few people were supposed to attend was packed.  Terry told me that Chris Carmichael was to be to local organizing committee chair.  The room was packed with not only local City and county types, but those who had used their money and local influence to force me out and take over. In the Fall of 2010 one of them formed the Pikes Peak Cycling Society which is the overall local committee, funded in part by the Downtown Partnership group of which he is Chairman, or something.

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge came to Colorado in August, 2011.   It was a good event and well organized.

But, everyone called it the, "Tour of Colorado!"   The Tour of Colorado website (this one) was gettting 6,000 hits each race day!  We sold a few t-shirts and jerseys.

I met again in September of 2011 with the person I met back in November of 2009.  This was at his request and he wanted to talk about, "the race."  I was told the race owners were not interested in the Tour of Colorado name but would entertain a proposal from me for them to buy the name.  Just don't ask to much and a "made up" amount was mentioned.  Well, I got a free race jersey!

I'll pass on that.

What's in a name?  August 7, 2011 Denver Post article.

Andy Bohlmann

Sand Creek Sports, Inc.