EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado — The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is getting a ton of hype as the stage race nears — many are referring to the race as the Tour de France of the United States.

That's a bold statement considering the race is brand new. California's stage race, the Tour of California, has been around for six years, but Vail Valley Foundation Operations Manager Adam Lueck said the USA Pro Cycling Challenge will have more television coverage in just its first year — it's going to be big.

“The best way to look at this is that we have the Tour de France coming to our backyard,” Lueck said. “For everybody that's watched a major international cycling event on TV, that's what we've got coming here.”

The top three finishers in this year's Tour de France will be racing in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, alongside some of the best European riders and the very best American riders, Lueck said.

The time trial, which is the third stage of the race, held in Vail on Aug. 25, promises to be among the most spectacular events ever held in Vail, according to the town of Vail.

And with all the athletes, spectators and more, there's bound to be some inconveniences, too.

With an event that is expected to bring so many people to both Vail and Avon for stages three and four, road closures are unavoidable, both for the safety of spectators and the athletes.

Lueck said a “curb-to-curb” closure is what's expected in a professional cycling race of this size. If organizers were to open up some of the areas even to one lane of traffic, there would be significant safety hazards, he said.

Some road closures will begin in Vail the day before the time trial, while others will happen the morning of the event. Roads will reopen in Vail by the late afternoon or early evening on Aug. 25.

Avon, which is the start of stage four, will also have some road closures in town as well as what's called a rolling road closure just outside of town on Highway 6.

“The nice part about both Vail and Avon is that they're very predictable (stages),” Lueck said. “We know exactly when it starts and when it ends.”

With towns that host the end of stages, the cyclists arrive at different paces and there's no way of knowing how long that will take.

The Xcel Energy pipeline project, which has hacked up most of Highway 6 from Edwards to Minturn this summer, was scheduled with the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in mind. The work being done in front of Arrowhead that has the road closed will be finished by the time stage four rolls through.

In Vail, a shoulder widening project on the South Frontage Road between Ford Park and Bald Mountain Road, along the route of the time trial, was completed this summer with the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in mind, Lueck said.

Margaret Rogers, a cyclist and current Vail Town Councilwoman, said she changed her vacation plans because of the event. She said the race is going to be a “huge deal.”

“So many people are excited about it. This is a big deal,” Rogers said. “I think it's going to be absolutely fabulous. The town is going to be packed.”

Community Editor Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.