Red Zinger Mini Classics
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| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Annually; April-September |
| Region | Colorado, United States |
| English name | Red Zinger Mini Classics |
| Nickname(s) | RZMC, Mini Classics, "Zinger" |
| Discipline | Bicycle Road racing series for girls and boys |
| Competition | Divided by age group/gender: 10-11; 12-13; 14-15. |
| Type | Stage races 3-5 days each |
| History | |
| First edition | 1981 |
| Final edition | 1992 |
Red Zinger Mini Classics (RZMC) was a series of youth boys and girls road bicycle races held annually across the state of Colorado from 1981-1992. The RZMC races served as an opportunity for young cyclists to get involved in the sport, and attracted hundreds of young boys and girls age 10-15 to each racing event.
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[edit] History
The name for the Red Zinger Mini Classics was derived from the original Red Zinger Bicycle Classic, a professional international-level bicycle race held in Colorado which later became the Coors Classic.
The RZMC youth races began as the 5-day "Mini Zinger" stage race in 1981. At that time the US Cycling Federation did not allow youth racing at ages below 15, therefore the RZMC series allowed kids younger than 15 to get involved in competitive road cycling.
The series grew to add several smaller 3-day stage races across the state of Colorado including the Horsetooth Stage Race (Fort Collins, CO), the Vail Stage Race (Vail/Avon, CO), Aspen Stage Race (Aspen, CO), Albuquerque Stage Race (Albuquerque, NM) and Denver Stage Race (Denver, CO). However, the pinnacle event each season remained the 5-day Mini Zinger stage race, which had events in several locations around the front-range of Colorado, mostly centered around the Boulder, CO area.
The Mini Zinger included races on some of Colorado's most famous cycling routes, such as the Morgul-Bismarck in Broomfield, CO. Some race courses were adapted as shorter versions of courses made famous by the Coors Classic.
The RZMC youth road cycling races continued until 1992, when several challenges led to the demise of the series, including competition with increasingly popular (and new at that time) mountain bike racing, reducing the number of participants in road events. For the last year of the series (1992) the RZMC series teamed up with the USCF-LAJORS program (US Cycling Federation - Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Race Series) and had good participation, however rider commitments for a further year in 1993 were minimal and the racing series came to an end. No such youth cycling development program has since taken its place.
[edit] Legacy of RZMC
The Red Zinger Mini Classics (RZMC) youth cycling races are credited with the early development of several riders who went on to be accomplished professional cyclists including:
Colby Pierce1 - Olympian and world track cycling champion
Bobby Julich2 - Professional cyclist and Tour de France rider
Jonathan Vaughters - Tour de France rider, US Postal Service Cycling Team member, director sportif of Team Slipstream
Chris Wherry - 2006 US national road champion and professional cyclist
Ruthie Mathes - Professional mountain bike racer and 1991 World Mountain Bike Champion
The series also provided exposure to the world of cycling to hundreds of young athletes, developing a generation of young Colorado cyclists who went on to have a lifelong interest in the sport.
[edit] References
1. Interview with World Champion cyclist Colby Pierce
2. Bobby Julich race results (1985 RZMC winner)
