Next week’s running of the annual Race to the Clouds at Pikes Peak has been postponed because of the dangerous conditions resulting from the wildfires currently burning out of control near Colorado Springs, Colorado. “We have been informed by the U.S. Forest Service that conditions are so extreme, along with the inability to forecast the future of the fire, and with access to Pikes Peak in jeopardy that the agency can’t permit the event to go as scheduled,” said Tom Osborne, chairman of the board of the PPIHC and President & CEO of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation.
Osborne added that the 90th running of this annual competition – and the first to be contested on full pavement – will take place at some point this summer. Organizers hope to announce the exact timing with in the next two weeks. “Our deepest concern is for the safety of the public and the competitors,” Osborne noted, “and it was obvious that several agencies charged with public safety would not be able to commit the resources and manpower required to ensure those requirements because of the critical need for their resources at this time. Our city is in an unprecedented struggle right now and we are deeply sensitive to it.”
The 12.42-mile venue that leads to the 14,110-foot finish line at Pikes Peak winds through 156 turns and 4,720 feet of elevation change. With 211 entries from 16 countries – including several ultra-performance electric-powered vehicles — this year’s competition quite literally promises to be one for the record books.
