RACERS

And with Denver, we went with more long endurance road racers and former Tour de France riders and some track racers as well. This was like our beta test for our first year. We’re just trying to see what works.”

So far, Ford is crushing Ferrari, and endurance-based riding is dominating.

“It didn’t take long for our team to really start to understand, read, and communicate with each other mid-race,” Granigan said. “With riders from all over the world, all with their own strengths and styles, we were quick to take all of that and create a really strong unit, which we demonstrated in the Miami Beach cup in the first race of the year.”

Development of the future

The experimentation is still ongoing, McCalvin said. The three events this year are all in different formats. The Miami event was held on Ocean Drive. The Denver event is held at a professional sports facility. The Atlanta event will be more private and VIPbased.

“We’re trying to figure out what the model is in relation to keeping it community-based and getting the local families and community involved. I want your aunt to go and have a good time. Not just you because you enjoy cycling,” McCalvin said.

But McCalvin knows the future e majority of SNAP participants are children and people with disabilities, and Rose pointed out most people who can work, do. She added having to ll out paperwork documenting at least 20 hours of work or training activities per week does nothing to help people nd or maintain employment, it just makes the program more costly to administer.

Hunger Free Colorado works with community partners across the state to get more people who qualify for food assistance enrolled. But after pre-pandemic SNAP work reporting requirements were reinstated, at least half a million Americans are expected to lose food assistance, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. An additional 750,000 are at risk after the debt-ceiling negotiations raised the age cap for reporting requirements to 55.

“Taking away someone’s food does not make it easier to hold of all sports is in broadcasting. The NCL events are all broadcast on the GCN+, the Global Cycling Network streaming service. It’s all about expanding the league’s reach and getting new fans invested and interested in the sport.

“We’re very excited about being at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park,” McCalvin said. “A big part of what we’re doing is development of the future. It’s one of our pillars. It’s the best thing in the community.”

At the Aug. 13 event, there will be free junior racing, free mountain bike crit racing for kids, and a community ride for fans of all ages.

In fact, everything involving the event is free: the parking, the tickets, the community-based activities involved, and watching the pro race. The only thing interested fans will need to purchase is food and souvenirs, unless they want VIP tickets, which can be purchased on www.nclracing. com.

“Now we’re the cycling team in Denver and Colorado, and that’s important to us,” McCalvin said.

“I remember when the Mammoth first started, and I remember when the Rapids first started. It didn’t quite happen all at once. It started semi-small-ish, and it’s grown into a [significant] fanbase and community staple.” down a job, or go to that job interview,” Rose contended. “It just creates more red tape for people to access the basic resources that they need.”

For more information on the NCL and the Denver Disruptors, visit the team’s website at www. nclracing.com/teams/0/denverdisruptors.

“Paint your faces, bring your flags, and come out and support!” McCalvin said.

In 2017, SNAP added more than $700 million to local Colorado economies, with an overall economic impact of $1.25 billion, but the state loses more than $230 million each year in grocery sales by not having all eligible residents enrolled. Rose noted back in 2019, just 59% of Coloradans eligible for

SNAP got assistance.

“With the 2021 numbers, we’ve jumped up to 73%,” Rose acknowledged. “ at is a great improvement. But there are still 27% of our lowest-income Coloradans not accessing the program, so there is still a lot of room for us to continue this growth.”