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Lance Armstrong to appear in Durango
Cycling star to attend film premier, benefit
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by ERIC DRUMMOND\Herald
Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens climb the steep power line section of the Leadville 100 course in 2008.
Click image to enlarge
ERIC DRUMMOND\Herald
Thousands gather in downtown Leadville in 2008 to see Lance Armstrong cross the Leadville 100 finish line in second place with a time of 6 hours, 47 minutes, 41 seconds. Armstrong went on to take the top spot in the 2009 race.
FLC cycling fundraiser
Tickets for the premier of “Race Across the Sky” and the dinner afterward with Lance Armstrong are available at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 247-7657. “Race Across the Sky,” a documentary about the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, is a fundraiser for the Fort Lewis College cycling program and Trails 2000.
The documentary and a dinner after with Armstrong on Oct. 20 will be a fundraiser for the Fort Lewis College cycling program and Trails 2000.
Tickets to watch the documentary with Armstrong; Matt Shriver, coach of the Fort Lewis College cycling team; Hall of Fame cyclists Dave Wiens and Travis Brown (a 2000 Olympian and Durango resident); and Ken Chlouber, founder and president of the Leadville Trail 100, go on sale Monday.
There could be residents of Leadville who resent the premier of "Race Across the Sky" being held in Durango, but Leadville Mayor Bud Elliott harbors no hard feelings, he said Thursday.
"I've seen the trailer, and I'm eager to see the documentary," Elliott said by telephone. "I'm sure there were economical and logistical considerations."
Elliott has been intimately connected to the Leadville Trail 100 races as the announcer for all events under its banner except for the 10K race. Elliott said he has lost count, but he thinks he's announced the mountain bike component almost since its inception in 1994.
"I do six events," Elliott said. "But not the 10K, because it doesn't give me time to get warmed up."
Shriver, who, together with Brown helped support Armstrong and his record ride this year in the Leadville 100, said the Durango community eagerly awaits the arrival of Armstrong.
"We're super fortunate that Armstrong is coming to Durango," Shriver said Thursday. "He's very busy, but he is very interested in and supports collegiate cycling."
Armstrong won the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 in August. Wiens is a six-time winner.
The Leadville 100 started about 25 years ago as a running race to draw tourism to Leadville. In 1994, it added a mountain bike component that has become a competition that caps entries at 1,400, with a lottery determining who will compete. The course includes 14,000 vertical feet of climbing and severe weather changes. The objective is to finish the race, which follows dirt trails, mining roads and Forest Service roads, in 12 hours or less.
The documentary will be screened at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. At the end, viewers will have a chance to exchange reactions with Armstrong. Tickets are $20 for the balcony and $25 for orchestra and main-floor seating.
After the premier, Armstrong will join guests for a private dinner at Fort Lewis College starting at 7:30 p.m. Dinner tickets are $500 and include premium seating for the documentary. Each guest will receive a gift-filled Osprey pack and the opportunity to ask Armstrong questions.
Sponsors of the event are Animas Orthopedics; Durango Coca-Cola, which distributes FRS, an energy drink that sponsors Armstrong; Sodexho, the campus food purveyor; Bank of the San Juans; Fort Lewis College; and Community Concert Hall. Special edition Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co. bars commemorating the event are available for $3 at Mountain Bike Specialists, Maria's Bookshop and Bank of the San Juans.
Tickets are offered on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9 a.m. Monday. Tickets for the documentary and dinner and additional information are available at www.durangoconcerts.com or at 247-7657.
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