COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The cyclists and the fans from the USA Pro Cycling Challenge may have rolled on, but they've left behind a positive impact on Colorado and Colorado Springs.
The event reportedly brought in as much as $100 million for the state.
While the official numbers aren't in yet, event organizers said they're excited to see the results.
"We didn't really know what to expect. The fact is that we were given the Prologue, which is really exciting, but it was scheduled for Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. during a work week and school had already started," Meredith Vaughan, a board member of Pikes Peak Cycling Society, said.
Despite all that, ten
s of thousands of people came out to cheer their favorite cyclists on.
"We were thrilled beyond belief, and it exceeded even our most wild of expectations of what might happen," Vaughan said.
Vaughan said the event brought the entire community together.
"We had people who were not avid cyclists out on the course, participating in all of the activities. We had very avid cyclists, in fact professional athletes who were equally excited. So emotionally this event brought the community together in a way that we haven't seen in a long, long time, and there's nothing better than that. It was something everyone could rally around, it's super exciting," Vaughan said.
She and many others are anxiously awaiting the results of an economic study, but she predicts the numbers will be huge, adding all the hotels contracted within the city were sold out.
"The race being on a Monday, we were able to sell out hotels Saturday and Sunday nights and some Friday nights as well, so we know that there was a tremendous economic impact just from the hotel stays. You can also imagine also all the people that came into town, stayed in hotels, ate in the restaurants, and shopped in our stores," Vaughan said.
John Crandall, who owns Old Town Bike Shop, said he thinks the race helped his business.
"The two weeks that involved the race, meaning the week before and the week it was taking place in the rest of the state, definitely there was a little uptake in business," Crandall said.
Crandall also credits the race with helping to peak an interest in cycling locally.
"All week each stage seemed to get bigger and bigger. It kind of swept the state as people got more and more aware of it," he said.
Crandall said it was the biggest cycling event he has ever seen.
"I also attended the final stage in Denver, and it was huge. It was bigger than any stage I had seen in the Coors Classic, and I had seen every year of the Coors Classic that it was here," he said.
Along with event organizers, and other cycling fans, Crandall hopes the USA Pro Cycling Challenge will return to Colorado Springs.
"I am hoping it comes back. It was a lot of fun, and it was interesting meeting people from other cities and sometimes other countries," Crandall said.
Vaughan said they are hoping to host the Prologue again next year, but it will be a competition.
The economic study is currently underway, and results are expected by October, but the true impact of hosting the event may never truly be known.
"That day in Colorado Springs was broadcasted in 160 countries, 20 million people saw our community live and saw everything from Garden of the Gods to downtown Colorado Springs. That's worth millions and millions of dollars to our community," Vaughan said.
She said the event showcased Colorado Springs as a great place that loves sports and hopes it will bring more visitors in the future.
"People saw how beautiful it is here and were able to enjoy it through their television sets, and hopefully one day they will come to enjoy it live," Vaughan said.
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