For half a century, America tried to build its own Tour de France—and failed nine times. From Donald Trump’s 1989 helicopter landings in Atlantic City to the Tour of California’s economic impact, this documentary tells the complete story of American professional cycling’s rise and fall. The Tour de Trump, Tour DuPont, Coors Classic, Tour of California, USA Pro Challenge, Tour of Utah, Tour de Georgia, Tour of Missouri, and Philadelphia Cycling Classic all featured world-class riders like Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, Peter Sagan, and Bernard Hinault, drew massive crowds, and generated millions in economic impact—yet every single one collapsed.
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36 Comments
LMAO Tour de trump what a narcissist 😂😂😂
steel ball run?
You also have to remember how many more entertainment options there are now versus the heyday of some of these races. This also means fewer competitors are choosing to race bikes.
trump can't do anything, everything this pos touches dies
So, the issue with longevity for me is that these are one off races, nothing before, nothing after. If there existed a series of one day/small stage races, followed by a larger stage race, then you'd have a good run for teams to commit to. Moreover, we just can not compete with the biggest races of the world on any level–there is too much history, too much prestige in the European events
Well done! There was a stage race in 1990 called Tour of the Americas, it went from Venezuela to Puerto Rico to Florida. I think Malcolm Eliot won. And don't forget the GP San Francisco- epic hills, even though it was one day it was incredible. I grew up with the Red Zinger and Coors, raced the Coors twice, Trump Tour once as well as the Peace Race in Poland/East Germany/Czechoslovakia. Thanks for the analysis!
Too many errors in this history to make it anything more than a nice recap. As someone who worked on races starting in 1989 Tour de Trump and nearly 15 years of TV and sponsorship involvement in the sport cyclings ROI model in the US can be done but it'll sadly never happen again. I did enjoy seeing clips of my old TV and home video coverage of some of the races in your story. Brings a smile to my face to see Greg, Erik, Davis, and the old legends in their prime. Keep up the cycling memories!
Very happy the Philly cycling classic is back!
The tour devide is still going strong
Redlands Classic?
So sad, Americans are fat, lazy and uninterested in complex team sports that dont involve a ball.
Redlands and Cascade CC needs some reapect.
Can’t believe USA hasn’t figure it out yet. Imagine a tour throughout Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico. Another race throughout the Pacific Northwest, California, Oregon, Washington. It would be incredible, beautiful and breathtaking.
The Killington Stage race in VT during the mid-90s was also a super race. 5 days of racing for both pros and amateurs.
Red Zinger and Coors Classic were clearly the pinnacle of US stage racing. It was considered the 4th most prestigious stage race for professional men in its last several years. For its entire history it was the most prestigious race of any kind on the Women's racing calendar, at least as important as the World Championships.
Ill never forget seeing Lance at the Tour de Georgia as a kid. It was quite a special experience for a young boy who had dreams of riding in Europe.
The various Tours failed because sponsors couldn't find where the were recouping the monies they laid out to put them on. AMGEN pulled out of the Tour of California and it folded, fast. Same with many of the others. In Europe the events have multiple headlining sponsors. Just look at the banners. There are even road furniture blocker sponsors. We need to gain that level of commitment here and have several high quality races.
Solid overview. Consider new sources by interviewing race organizers, sponsors, local organizing committee members, city council members, local business leaders and team directors. That said, how is an experiment a failure when it’s based on a 3yr plan and they make it 3 years? It’s not designed to go longer from the onset. ToC was started with the initial goal of lasting 5-7 years. And closing Palm Drive on Stanford alone was not a small endeavor. A bummer it’s gone but far from a failure. Reasons to stop or continue the race go well beyond finances. Forever we’ll have people poking holes, sounding intelligent with Chat summaries and full of ideas—because they love cycling and want to see it grow. That’s great. But they are rarely the ones willing to roll up their sleeves and dedicate their lives to make it happen. The reality is the real challenges sit below the surface, in the heads of people living and breathing the event daily or it’s in an OC handbook that not easily access or scraped by Chat. I didn’t hear any mention of the race calendar, race date and its relation to other pro tour events…and how weather impacts the “success” of a race. So what are you willing to do to ensure our next great US race isn’t a “failure”?
Raul Alcalá wins.
Cycling will be part of the 2028 Olympics.
You forgot to mention the Coors Classic. That was the stage race that really got top name European racers to cross the Atlantic and race over here.
A NYC -> VA race could be successful. It would certainly have a ton of spectators and be visible to corporations that exist in major cities along the way.
The video requires a lot more insight into the modern situation. Joe Martin was the last stage race to go away. USAC is a big reason stage races are impossible to put on. Crits were growing more recently as multiple national series popped up, but some bad actors ruined it for everyone.
Tour of CO / Pro Challenge was so much fun
Gravel is becoming such a popular thing, if they televised Unbound I would be STOKED
When the whole peloton (including support vehicles) zips by you in about half a minute, is it any wonder that stage races in the U.S. just aren't that popular? Arena/stadium sports, whether it's basketball or baseball or auto racing or tennis to name a few, let the spectator see the whole game close up. That said, not all stadium sports remain popular; Places (like Madison Sq. Garden or Boston Garden) in the U.S. were buzzing with lots of betting and spectators in, say, 1906 and faded out entirely after WW2. Instead, they found their money in basketball, hockey and boxing. Other sports thrive in stadium settings like football and soccer.
Sports popularity changes over the years but I think that cycling in particular will always remain a niche sport in the U.S.
Still got a cowbell from tour de California. I miss it big time
Road racing is like watching grass grow, boring.
I appreciate the history laid out. One of the possible missing factors in your assessment as to why these races keep failing are economic downturns. Each of the more contemporary races died right around the Great Recession and the pandemic. Infant investments that aren’t core to the marketing strategies of these companies are typically the first to go when there’s an economic down turn. Maybe if we can get the timing, government backing and location(s) right, North America can better establish itself in this arena.
tour of the gila in new mexico is still around!
Thank you for not mentioning the Tour Dr Trum.
Utah, Colorado, California were all so much fun. Glad they are trying to bring some back. I hope with the Modern Adventure squad, heaps of U.S. talent, and the upcoming Olympics RR course will bring renewed attention to the sport.
In my racing and race directing days, we could never have a road closed unless it was a Saturday evening criterium. We had to find places that were out of the way low traffic area which meant zero fan support which meant zero sponsor support. Hard to grow a sport when every level of government won't accommodate a road for even a couple hours on a Sunday morning.
Nobody’s talking about Levi’s Gran Fondo In Sonoma County
There is a perception of the sport as dirty. I don't know what the extent of it is, but the perception matters.
Excellent breakdown