World-class Competitions and Training

Leadville and Twin Lakes have been attracting athletes from around the world for years. Some come here to enjoy the cool, fresh mountain air and beautiful views. Some come to gain a competitive advantage with endurance and high-altitude training. And others come to compete in some of the world’s most challenging races.

NEW! The 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge returns to Lake County!

In August 2011, three of the year’s toughest competitions took place in Leadville and Twin Lakes during a 12-day period.

On August 13, nearly 2,000 riders from all 50 states and 21 countries lined up in on Harrison Avenue for the Leadville Trail 100, the country’s most prestigious ultra-distance mountain bike race.  Twelve hours later, 1,277 finished the grueling course before the cut-off. One week later, 625 runners lined up at 4 a.m. to take on the extreme  “Race Across the Sky” course, which ranges in elevation from 9,200 to 12,600 feet above sea level. 347 finished before the 30-hour time limit.

Just 3 days later, on August 24, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge traveled through Twin Lakes and over Independence Pass into Aspen. This was the second of seven stages, and was the hardest, longest and highest of the race. The riders started the day in Gunnison and traveled through the Gunnison National Forest, climbing 2,740 feet to reach the top of Cottonwood Pass. The next challenge was Independence Pass, a narrow and steep road, with a 6.5% gradient with numerous switchbacks that peaks at 12,095 feet. The riders ended the 131-mile day with a descent into Aspen.

Approximately 10,000 spectators lined up along the Twin Lakes side of Independence Pass, some camping along the roadside overnight, and some riding their own bikes to the peak, to cheer on the riders. They were rewarded with a spectacular view of professional riders from around the world in what was dubbed a “take no prisoners” day of racing.

Earlier in the year, Olympic swimmers Anders Lie and Lotte Friis, Denmark, and Aschwin Wildeboer, Spain, spent a week training at the Lake County Recreation Department Swimming Pool. The high-elevation training gives athletes an advantage and an extra boost when they compete at lower elevations.

There are competitions throughout the year, including triathlons, duathlons, Nordic and downhill ski races, and even a winter mountain bike series.  At 10,152 feet, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in North America and one of the best places on earth to train and compete.