About 300 people lined up along the street in downtown Dolores Monday to witness something many had never seen before: a wold-class cycling race.
After starting in Durango for the first stage of what will be a seven-stage race, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge cyclists raced toward a spring line in Dolores on their way to Telluride.
Chandler Smith, 7 and Sydney Smith, 9, both brought flags to wave as the cyclists raced through town. One was the American flag, the other read Welcome.
This is so fun, Sydney Smith said.
Alex Kunkel, of Durango, was in Dolores for the event too.
Its awesome to have this in our area, she said.
Three-year-old Kyah Christenson rang a cow bell in anticipation.
Its great. Its very exciting, Jeff Christenson said.
Bob Jones traveled from Bullhead City, Ariz. to watch the cyclists in Dolores.
I knew I wouldnt be able to make it to Durango, so I decided to watch it here in Dolores, he said.
Jones has traveled longer distances to watch cycling races. He has watched the Tour de France two times. He planed to watch the cyclists in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge again in Aspen.
Meanwhile, Jones got a lot of attention from cycling fans on Monday near Lizardhead Cyclery because of his bike. The frame is made of bamboo.
That is wild, many people said. Everyone wanted to pick it up and touch it.
Its not that heavy, Jones told many onlookers.
Once the cyclists came through Dolores, at around 12:30, spectators cheered and shook some of the 1,500 bells passed out by the Town of Dolores.
But just as quick as they came, some of the worlds best cyclists were then gone, on there way to Telluride.
They dont stop to drink or eat and a line of support vehicles rushed through town behind them.
Its not much of a spectator sport, said Michael Engleman, a former professional cyclist from Dolores who also is the director of the US Womens Cycling Development Program.
Meanwhile, many Dolores residents continued to watch the race live online. They watched cyclists climb Lizardhead Pass and cruise into Telluride.
Town Manager Ryan Mahoney said he was pleased with the race.
Overall it went pretty good, he said.
However, he and others, were a bit upset that the road was closed so early. Traffic was stopped and not allowed through at the intersection of Highways 184 and 145 just before 11 a.m. The racers didnt get to the intersection until just before 12:30.
A lot of people had to walk into town or didnt get to watch, he said.
And many people didnt let the roadblock stop them and parked their cars. Some walked, some ran and some road bikes, so they wouldnt miss the action.
