Cañon City
presented by Assos USA
PLEASE BE AWARE: THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO PRERIDE. IT INCLUDES PRIVATE PROPERTY THAT IS NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC USE. PLEASE RIDE THE GORGE AND SOUTH CANYON TRAILS AS SEPARATE RIDES AND DO NOT TRY TO CONNECT THEM WITH THE ROYAL GORGE BRIDGE
37.2 miles + 3,970 feet of climbing
Cañon City is a brand new stage for The APEX. AND, it's on a loop NEVER RACED BEFORE.
Friday’s stage starts in downtown Cañon City, about a 50 minute drive from Colorado Springs. The race will ride up the brand new Royal Cascade Trail before rolling through some singletrack in Royal Gorge Park. Riders will then cross the Royal Gorge Bridge — a spectacular wooden plank suspension bridge above the Arkansas River — that hangs nearly 1,000 feet in the air. Some private property doubletrack will take the cyclists to the county roads on the south side of the bridge and loop over to the South Canyon Trails which will present plenty more singletrack before coming back into Cañon City from the south side of town.
The singletrack in this area is much different than Colorado Springs. Much of it consists of purpose-built flowy singletrack, but riders will find plenty of sections with loose volcanic rock as well. The course will be approximately 37 miles and have about 4,000 feet of climbing. Be aware, that first climb up the Royal Cascade Trail is no joke, but the views of Pikes Peak and the southern Rockies will more than make up for it.
*PLEASE NOTE*--riders will need to make it over the Royal Gorge Bridge (mile 17.6) by 1:15pm to continue on the course. Riders that don't make it to that cutoff time will be turned back toward Canon City.
We think this stage will be the highlight of the weekend!
Pre-ride Details
Course Overview
Location & Parking Details
Centennial Park
221 Griffin Ave, Cañon City, CO 81212
Stage 2 Schedule