Golden cycling statue connected to USA Pro Challenge history

It’s easy to remember the impact the USA Pro Challenge has had on Golden: Just look at the bronze statue of a cyclist in the city’s downtown.

But the statue has a story of its own.

A prerequisite to be a host city for the 2011 USA Pro Challenge was that Golden had to have a commemorative piece of art in the city, said Dan Dwyer, co-chair of the Challenge’s local organizing committee.

So in 2012, the second year Golden was involved in the race, a large trailer brought abronze statue by sculptor Jeffrey Burnham Rudolph, depicting a cyclist racing ahead.

Originally, the statue was modeled after former professional road racing cyclist Levi Leipheimer, winner of the inaugural USA Pro Challenge in 2011. Golden was a host for stage 7 of the race, and the course followed the same route as it does this year –; a start in Golden, a climb up Lookout Mountain, then on to downtown Denver for a sprint finish.

After the statue’s dedication, it spent some time in the public works department until the city decided on its permanent home at the northeast corner of 13th Street and Washington Avenue.

“It’s appropriate for the statue to be where it is,” Dwyer said.

Golden is known to have a large cycling community, Dwyer said. Every Saturday and Sunday, people will see a gathering of cyclists congregating on that corner, getting ready for a ride, usually up the breathtaking switchbacks of Lookout Mountain Road –; a route also used several times by the USA Pro Challenge.

In 2013, the only year the USA Pro Challenge did not come to Golden, Leipheimer was suspended for engaging in performance-enhancing drug use. The city decided it best to remove his name from the statue. The statue then became a generic USA Pro Challenge commemorative piece of art.

Then, at some point the following year, a truck taking a turn too quickly crashed into the statue. It was shipped off for repairs.

The statue was back in its place in time for the 2014 USA Pro Challenge when Golden was a passthrough city.

The statue sits just south of the official start line for the 2015 USA Pro Challenge.

Etched into the statue are the words “strength, dedication, discipline, determination.” The words, Dwyer said, personify what it takes to be a good cyclist.

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