A Future in Silver City (via Bicycling.com)
If you want a look at where the next great bike racers will emerge, you could do worse than to head to tiny Silver City.
The town in the mountains of southwest New Mexico is near precisely nothing but is the home of the long-running Tour of the Gila stage race. All but given up for dead in 2009 before SRAM stepped in as title sponsor and essentially saved the race (an appearance by a certain Lance Armstrong didn’t hurt either), the Gila has since been revived—somewhat.
The five-stage race is known for its hilly terrain, and the length of the stages, the climbing, and the time trial all conspire to make it one of the more convincing tests on the US national calendar. As such, it’s a great place to identify up-and-coming talent, particularly when measured against current top US pros.
