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What would a three-week Tour of the USA look like?
The United States has given us some of road cycling’s most celebrated champions and, equally, most disgraced cycling villains. The country may be a global leader in film, music and economics, but has undoubtedly lagged behind when it comes to hosting top-flight bike races.
The pandemic killed off the Tour of California, a race that was previously on the WorldTour, while the Tour of Utah faced a similar fate in the early 2020s. Despite these losses, Americans have been consistently lighting up the Tour de France and spring Classics in recent seasons. The US currently holds two men’s WorldTour team licences and for the first time in a decade we saw an American win a Grand Tour with Sepp Kuss’s triumph at last year’s Vuelta a España.
In the autumn, we proposed adding the UK and Ireland to the elite Grand Tour club. While those were largely exercises in wishful thinking in terms of it actually ever happening, there’s one nation that certainly does have the hardy climbs, cycling heritage and diverse landscape needed to pull-off a three week race: the United States of America.
Everything’s bigger in America, they say, so this is our toughest Grand Tour proposition to date. The UK and Ireland are both blessed with rather compact geography. The US, on the other hand, is far larger than any European country (bar Russia, of course). There’s no obvious way to tackle 21 stages around this beast of a nation, but we’re here to give it a try.
Addressing America’s stage race shortage
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Stage races have been held in America for decades. None have ever been bold enough to take the whole country. Some hopefuls have tried their hand, however. Donald Trump attempted to create a Tour de France equivalent in the 1990s, the humbly named Tour de Trump. The President-elect hoped for the race to grow into a fourth Grand Tour, riding the wave of American success in the early 90s, mainly courtesy of Greg LeMond.
That said, there has been a sharp decline in the American racing scene since 2020. Multi-day road cycling events have fallen out of favour and the US has lost its only WorldTour race, the Tour of California, as well as a rich August schedule that featured the USA Pro Challenge and the Tour of Utah. There’s a new one-day race in Maryland, but that is the only real glimpse of hope on an international level.
Despite an American renaissance on the WorldTour level in men’s cycling, the racing scene is still to pick up again on a nationwide scale. The Tour of California has shown no signs of returning and no top division race or Road World Championships is scheduled to take place on American roads for the foreseeable future.
With this, there’s a real gap in the market waiting to be filled. One way to solve this is to compact all the stage races into one big Grand Tour around ‘the land of the free’. Why go to Europe when you can bring the Grand Tour to the new world?
Bringing Grand Tours stateside
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The concept of the Grand Tour feels fundamentally European. The format thrives on local tourism, a network of easily negotiable roads and the close proximity from urban core to stunning mountain passes. This is nothing against the US – I promise – the country is just very big.
Going from New York to Los Angeles via the most direct road route would take around 4,500km. This is well over the average Grand Tour length, which sits at around 3,500km. Transfers from stage to stage would be monstrous if you want to do the American landscape justice. Just covering a mere portion of the contiguous States is a big ask for route organisers and riders. Maybe 21 stages aren’t enough.
There’s no doubt that an American Grand Tour would have a different feel to it. Firstly, we would become very accustomed to viewing the peloton ride along wide straight roads. Secondly, the mountain climbs are longer than your typical European fare. Thirdly, the geography and climate of the US would be completely different to a European three-weeker. I know Spain’s hot, but a Tour of America could entail some desert roads and wild west plains.
Hosting a Grand Tour in America would also open up a new commercial market. We’d probably get wall-to-wall advertisements during the racing and there’s no doubt that the stage distances would be charted in miles and altitude markers recognised in feet if a Grand Tour were to reach American shores.
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Finding our iconic stages
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The USA has plenty of big-name summit finishes. Altitude is a bit of an issue, on the other hand. Some of the biggest climbs in the States are well above the 4,000m marker, particularly in the Rocky Mountains. Much of Colorado sits at around 2,000m above sea level anyway, the same as many hors-catégorie summits at the Tour de France.
Outside of these goliaths, the US offers heaps of locations befitting an iconic finish. Of course, American cities are known the world over. I’m thinking of New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New Orleans. The city dwellers may have to park their car fixation to one side to allow bikes to take over the city for just one afternoon. However, there’s no bigger advert for cycling than hosting a big ol’ bike race.
Mount Rushmore might be in the middle of nowhere, but it’s universally recognisable. Similarly, locations like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Arches National Park would be great locations to show off this sport. Which other sport can use a National Park as its amphitheatre?
Anyways, let’s stay focussed on the big climbs and identify some candidates for a big summit finish on this hypothetical Tour of America.
Pikes Peak
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Pikes Peak is terrifyingly tall. The road crests at an astounding 4,302m, a staggering 2,000m taller than the Stelvio and Galibier over in Europe.
This Colorado challenge has been used for the US Hill Climb Championships on a couple of occasions, however its roads are yet to be fearfully negotiated at a professional stage race. At 39km in full length and 6.1% in gradient, this is an absolute brute. In many regards, it’s the toughest climb in mainland America.
The real climbing begins after passing through a tollbooth in Cascade, not far from Colorado Springs. There, the road winds up at a 9% average for the final 14km. The race would have to close the roads for an afternoon though, which may cause some upset among tourists. Pikes Peak claims to be the second-most visited mountain on earth.
- Read our Pikes Peak Classic Climb
Mount Washington
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Mount Washington is the highest peak in New England. Prominent in the area’s topography, the mountain records some of the highest windspeeds in the world. In fact, gusts of 372kmh have been charted at the summit, making this the highest gusts recorded on the planet outside of a tornado or hurricane setting.
As of 2022, the road is fully paved, and reaches 22% at its nastiest points. There’s no respite during the 12km ascent. In total the climb averages 12%, a stat not too dissimilar to the Monte Zoncolan. From the base camp in the Great Glens to the summit, it is a tough piece of work.
The New Hampshire brute already hosts its own cycling event: the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb. This is a 12.2km pure test of mountain strength against the clock. The event has been won by former pros Phil Gaimon and Tyler Hamilton on four occasions respectively. Outside of this event, the climb has never been used on a professional race despite its notoriety in the American scene.
Mauna Kea
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We take a trip halfway across the Pacific Ocean for this pick. Nestled right in the centre of Hawai’i, the state’s namesake island, Mauna Kea is a climb like no other. This dormant volcano holds the unofficial title of being ‘the world’s hardest climb’ – a rather dramatic claim to fame.
This is for good reason. In its entirety, from sea to summit, the climb lasts for 68km. To add, the roads rise to a ludicrous 4,000m above sea level. If you struggle with altitude sickness, this might not be the climb for you. Given that the roads begin to ramp up from the Pacific shores, the climb builds 4,100m in altitude on just one test. This is double that of any climb mentioned so far and any major climb in Europe. Just to add in another scare factor, the final 20km are at an average gradient of around 20%.
There’s no need to panic. Due to logistical issues of mapping out a route from Hawaii, Mauna Kea has been put to one side on our Tour of America parcours. Even Tadej Pogačar might be thankful for that.
- Read our Mauna Kea Big Ride
Our route
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As highlighted, mapping out a Tour of America is a monumental task. In trying our best to visit major US cities, mountain ranges and notable sites, we set out on creating a three week race that was in equal parts achievable and similar to the format seen in Europe.
Here are some things to consider. We’ve limited stage transfers so they remain within a three hour drive of the finish line the day before – with the exception of rest days. To add, we’ve also tried to avoid major highways. I know how much you guys love your cars so we’re trying to minimise traffic disruption.
Mix this all together and here’s what we’ve come up with.
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The Tour of America – which, in reality, would probably have some big pharmaceutical sponsor behind it – has to set off from a major city. For this, we’ve chosen ‘the Big Apple’.
The opening stage in New York would offer a prologue around the perimeter of Central Park. This rectangular circuit isn’t exactly the most exciting on paper, but it would allow the real specialists a chance to take the jersey. While they do their thing, the TV cameras can have free reign to take as many aerial shots of downtown Manhattan as they like. The finish line, however, would come after a long run down New York’s iconic 5th Avenue. A grand start to the grandest of tours no less.
The following two stages are flat in profile as the riders leave New York and move towards New England via Cape Cod and Connecticut state capital Hartford. The riders will get the chance to sprint past Plymouth Rock on Stage 3 at the day’s intermediate sprint, reminding them of the US’s colonial past.
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The flat profiles are parked to one side on Stage 4 to make way for an early summit finish in the White Mountain range at Mount Washington. As discussed, the climb is brutal. This will give a chance for GC riders to chake up the standings within the opening days of this three-weeker. Bear in mind that this will be the only summit finish in this first week, so its importance will be paramount.
Stage 5 will test the GC riders’ tired legs once more with a rolling profile through Vermont and upstate New York. The Appalachian Gap will be a tough early test on the profile, bringing the riders onto double-digit gradients within the opening 50km of the stage. The drag up to Casade Lake will provide one last chance for attacks before a deceiving final kilometre at a 4% gradient in former Winter Olympic host city Lake Placid.
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From New England, we skirt past the Great Lakes for four very flat stages.
Stage 6 brushes past New York’s Finger Lakes before Stage 7’s finish on the doorstep of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The following day, we take a trip onto some college campuses with a stage from the University of Michigan’s home in Ann Arbor to the University of Indiana’s campus in South Bend.
On Stage 9, the first week of racing closes with a time-trial in ‘the windy city’, Chicago. The route sets out from the lakeside suburb of Evanston before a long powerhouse suited time-trial into downtown Chicago. The riders will need to go back to their hotel rooms and pack their bags quickly though, they’ve got a long journey ahead.
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A heavy transfer would take the riders into the south and to Texas. Don’t worry, we’ve done the calculations and this is all possible by using the Texas Eagle train service from Chicago or a short domestic flight. This rest day might need to be stretched to two days, but the logistics can be ironed out at a later point.
Once in the Lone Star State, the race will restart by Texas’s famed Alamo. This fortress located in downtown San Antonio was the site of a pivotal battle in the Texas Revolution back in the 19th century. From there, Stage 10 will move northwards through Texas, passing by the iconic gas station Bucee’s on the outskirts of New Braunfels. The profile is backloaded with a punchy finale around the Texan capital.
The following stages are transitional to say the least. It’ll give the soigneurs some time to stock up on Whataburger sandwiches before heading deep into the west. That’s not without a visit to Waco’s Dr Pepper Museum at the start of Stage 11. The race picks up speed once the peloton leaves Texas and moves into the hills of New Mexico on Stage 13’s voyage from the artist’s retreat of Santa Fe.
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The latter half of the middle week is characterised by a series of challenging mountain stages in the Rocky Mountains. It all begins with a day perfectly suited for the breakaway comes in northern New Mexico on Stage 13.
Pikes Peak is a fearsome challenge the next day. Not only is it a monstrous 40km in length, it clocks up an altitude of 4,000m towards its summit. This might cause some complications for the Grand Tour peloton who aren’t used to climbing to such dizzying heights in Europe.
The following stage will round out the second week of racing with a tough profile featuring the rollercoaster of Fritz Peak, the interminable Warrior Mountain (26km at 4%) and Berthoud Pass. Together, the three climbs translate to 6242m of elevation gain throughout the day.
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With a connection from nearby Denver, the race will move into Utah on the second rest day. It’s only a seven-hour drive – that’s tough for the European mind to comprehend, but that’s a mere Sunday drive to some folk. Nevertheless, Salt Lake City welcomes the flag drop for the final week before a summit finish up the biblical Mount Nebo (25km at 4.5%).
From the ceiling of Utah, we come down onto flatland for a transitional stage that’ll take the peloton across the Nevada state border. This is the ideal time, therefore, for the race to enter ‘the City of Sin’, Las Vegas. It might not seem like a natural fit for a bike race, but I am more than intrigued to see the peloton roll by the faux Eiffel Tower on Las Vegas Boulevard. It’ll feel just like the Tour de France.
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Setting out from the middle of Death Valley – if the UCI extreme weather protocol allows – Stage 19 sees a return to the mountaintops with a finish up Horseshoe Meadow Road. This Californian test is 30km long and at an average gradient of 6.2%. That said, much of that stage is spent climbing up gentle slopes, moving from sea level right up to 3,000m.
There’s no rest for the wicked. The mountains continue the next day as the race edges closer to the Pacific coast. Starting from the military town of Ridgecrest, Stage 20 will move due south towards San Bernadino and a staple climb of the Tour of California. Mount Baldy (19km at 7.2%) has been used on the route of that race on five occasions in the race’s brief yet prolific history. Tadej Pogačar and Julian Alaphilippe are among two of the riders to have won atop this test.
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Los Angeles hosts the final stage of the race. That said, I don’t think the Tour of America needs to finish in the same city each year. They could spread out this responsibility to the likes of New York and Chicago – maybe even Puerto Rico or Guam.
Given LA’s close proximity to some pretty substantial slopes, this is no processional stage. Instead, we’re hoping to emulate the final stage of Paris-Nice with a hopeful GC day – that’s if the riders have anything left after two successive summit finishes in California.
The profile weaves around the Santa Monica Mountains just to the north of Hollywood and Beverly Hills, home to the rich and famous. The route will reach up to the iconic Mullholland Drive on several occasions via a network of canyon roads. The penultimate climb will see the riders sweep by the Hollywood sign before one final dig up Western Canyon Road in LA’s Griffith Park.
Is this possible?
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The hopeful answer is yes, but the realistic answer is a firm no.
The USA is simply too big for a Grand Tour. I know that the Tour de France route changes each year, but not even an ever-changing parcours could cover enough of the country over a five-year period.
Instead, America needs to cross its fingers and hope that some week-long stage races reappear on the calendar. Colorado, Utah, California and even New England could all host competitive races at the top level. There are sure to be some investors in the USA, we just need someone to push the boat out and try to organise something on a larger scale once again.
A Grand Tour isn’t the answer, though. Baby steps are needed for the USA to return to its former glory. Perhaps bike enthusiast Donald Trump will announce this soon in the State of the Union once he takes office in January.
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