Lance Armstrong brings ‘Stages’ podcast to Colorado Classic

Fresh off the successful Tour de France, “Stages” — Lance Armstrong's podcast about all things cycling — will cover the debut Colorado Classic and Velorama Colorado Festival in Denver this month

Armstrong brings a fresh and informed cycling perspective to the inaugural event with daily podcasts from Aug. 9-13, covering the women's and men's competitions with co-host JB Hager.

“We’re breaking ground with the ‘Stages’ podcast and love the idea of joining up with Velorama Colorado festival as they seek to do the same for cycling,” Armstrong said. "We're thrilled to cover the cycling action and to bring the unvarnished perspective our followers expect. And, as big music fans, we'll be covering the Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie concerts each night in Denver."

The Colorado Classic rolls through Colorado Springs, Breckenridge and Denver Aug. 10-13. The inaugural race features some of the top men’s and women’s racers in the world, including Tour de France runner-up Rigoberto Uran and his Cannondale-Drapac teammate, Taylor Phinney of Boulder. Also racing this year is Team Jelly Belly rider and Breckenridge native Taylor Shelden.

Velorama Colorado is a street party and music festival built around the race’s Denver stages on Aug. 12 and 13, featuring Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Old 97’s and the Jayhawks, plus hundreds of vendors in a festival marketplace that includes a bike expo. The festival is anchored by Denver Flea and the independent craft makers of beer, cider and wine from the Drink RiNo group.

The “Stages” podcast rose to quick success during the Tour de France in July with more than five million downloads and 80,000 unique Facebook viewers each day, totaling more than 1.7 million views.

This strong interest led to a top-10 ranking on iTunes in all categories, peaking in the No. 2 spot in sports.