COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The road washout in North Cheyenne Cañon Park is forcing organizers of the Pikes Peak APEX cycling race to consider alternate course routes.
“Both the gravel race and the third stage of the mountain bike race do ride up North Cheyenne Cañon Road, up on the pavement,” said Pike Peak APEX Director, Micah Rice.
Safety is priority, even though the problem spot is a very small segment of the course.
“We just want to make sure we make a good judgment call as we get closer to the event,” said Scott Abbott with Colorado Springs Parks.
“We're going to be working closely with parks and the city to see how safe that area is,” said Rice. “If there are ways to get around it on off road trails, we'll do that.”
There is a trail on the other side of the road from where the washout happened and all other trails in the park remain open.
It means there are options other than canceling the final day of racing.
“The Pikes Peak APEX is an off-road event. It's not a road event,” said Rice. “So, there's a ton of trails up here that we can use.”
Road crews will also be analyzing how much of the road has been undermined. That will determine if one lane can possibly support cyclists and later equipment for repair work.
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