Each year, apparel manufacturer Pearl Izumi outfits Team BMC's riders with thousands of articles of clothing. It's not an easy task.

Taylor Phinney's Stage 1 win bookends a 15-month hiaitus from cycling. Team United Healthcare battled Rohan Dennis in the final run-in to Steamboat Springs. Matthew Busche has a trick to suffering up climbs.

You may have read the news that Coloradan Tejay van Garderen will not race in this year's USA Pro Cycling Challenge due to his participation in the Tour of Spain. As the two-time defending champion and perhaps the world's best high-altitude racer, van Garderen would have been the favorite to win this year.

What if the Ohio State University football team played the Chicago Bears, or if the best college basketball players got to take on LeBron James? That David vs. Goliath dynamic happens every year at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, where smaller domestic American pro teams take on the big squads from the Tour de France.

There's a caveat to that statement, of course, since cycling is a famously unpredictable sport. A top rider can see his chances ruined by crashes, exhaustion and poor team strategy, and these catastrophes can occur at any point along the journey.

Bicycle races are often decided by inches on the pavement or seconds on the clock. It may seem unfathomable that a 100-mile stage can come down to the last few feet, but that scenario plays itself out regularly at the USA Pro Challenge.

Have you ever taken a friend from sea level hiking in the Rockies, only to find her gasping for air, or feeling lightheaded, after just a few uphill steps? Colorado's altitude poses a major hurdle for all visitors, including the elite cyclists who will participate in next month's USA Pro Cycling Challenge