photo by permission of Zion Canyon Village
On Thursday, Dec. 10, Larry H. Miller officials officially announced the 2016 Tour of Utah will start at Zion Canyon Village in Springdale and then proceed up Zion Canyon through some of the most scenic landscapes on Earth. The Tour of Utah is a seven day professional bicycle race sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the same organization that sanctions the Tour de France. Due to its altitude, distance, and weather conditions, the tour is nicknamed “America’s Toughest Stage Race.” At the announcement, Joe Dombrowksi, the defending champion of the tour said that he thought that description was “pretty accurate.”
photo courtesy of Zion Canyon Village
As far as the Town of Springdale is concerned, the road to this 2016 Tour of Utah announcement has been marked with controversy. The Town Council has declined proposals for Springdale to be the official host city, but Zion Canyon Village — along with three partners in Springdale — agreed to be the official host instead to keep the Tour’s starting point at the entrance to Zion National Park. Zion Canyon Village, which includes Cable Mountain Lodge, the Giant Screen Theater, and several other businesses, has sufficient parking by itself to meet the Tour’s requirements.
This isn’t the first time that professional bike racing has run into problems routing races through national parks. According to a Dec. 11 article in National Parks Traveler:
“Years ago Yosemite National Park officials declined a request to run a race through Yosemite Valley, and more recently the Park Service declined a request for a pro bike race to weave through Colorado National Monument.”
However, the Tour of Utah gained powerful support early on. All four Utah representatives and both senators signed a letter supporting the Tour in Utah. Zion National Park will allow the race to proceed up the switchbacks to the east entrance of the park and then on to Cedar City in Stage 1 of the race.
photo by Dan Mabbutt
Nathan Wells, manager at Zion Canyon Village, was enthusiastic about welcoming the 2016 Tour of Utah and said that it was a great place to start the Tour.
“We’re honored and thrilled that the Tour of Utah would consider having it here at our location,” he said.
Wells added that Zion Canyon Village would do its best to preserve the charm of Springdale while hosting the Tour and that it would benefit the entire area.
“Many see the Tour coming to Springdale and Zion Canyon Village as an opportunity to highlight the different ways that you can see Zion,” Wells said.
The seven stages of the 2016 Tour of Utah are:
— Zion Canyon Village to Cedar City
— Escalante to Torrey
— Richfield to Payson
— Lehi to Kearns
— Antelope Island to Bountiful
— Snowbasin to Snowbird
— Park City to Park City
After the start at Zion Canyon Village, Tour riders will take a “neutral pace” of about 25 miles an hour through the park.
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I’m sure this will be good reason for many to avoid going to Springdale and Zion Park given the chaos the event will generate. That said, there are many who enjoy chaotic events and the crowds so they’ll have fun. It’s too bad that the politicians had to get in the mix and not allow this small town and the Park Service to determine this themselves. Again, our politicians – many of whom assert they want freedom for individuals and communities to make their own decisions and act “freely” – have inserted themselves into the decision and used their power to rule. One despot is not much different from another.
Actually, Nate Wells and I agreed that the Tour won’t generate any (or, at least very little) chaos. Nate makes the point that it is fifty yards from the edge of Zion Canyon Village to the Park boundary so only fifty yards of Springdale proper will be traversed. Nate and I also agree that many, many other events generate far more disruption in Springdale. I’m a real fan of the St. Patrick’s Day parade and that pretty much shuts down the town for at least half a day. (It’s often the first really nice day in spring and half of Washington County shows up.)
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Read my piece about “We’re mad as Hell”. (http://suindependent.com/tour-utah-springdale-mad-hell/). At one point during my interview with Nate, he asked, “Why did people get so upset about the Tour?” There’s more than one simple reason but a big part of the answer is that the Tour just had the bad luck to be the event in the crosshairs when a critical mass of people in Springdale boiled over. It’s not the Tour. It’s that nobody was listening to us. (And losing the Izzy Poco/Subway battle had a deep impact on a lot of us too. We needed to win one even if the one we won didn’t need winning.)
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I don’t see the Tour, or the people in charge of the Tour, as “despotic”. They’re just trying to make a buck and have fun … and what’s wrong with that? But I do see a lack of community starting to destroy what has made Springdale special.
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Council member Mike Alltucker and Mayor Stan Smith both noted in the first meeting about the Tour that it was going to happen in Springdale regardless of what anyone here did. There was no way that we could actually stop it. And that’s exactly what happened! But as I pointed out to Nate, this is a good thing! The Tour doesn’t deserve to get squashed because Springdale people need to make a point loudly enough to get some attention. The way things worked out, both Springdale AND the Tour got what they wanted. Springdale made their point and the Tour will get their stage start here anyway.