By Pat McDonough
A trio of top cyclists took to the Pikes Peak Highway earlier this week to check out the road for the 2012 Red Noland Cadillac Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb. The race and fun ride is scheduled for Saturday, July 14th.

The professional cyclists included Leroy Popowski and Mike Creed of Colorado Springs, and Kevin Nicol of Boulder made the ride to the famous mountain's 14,115-foot summit.

Video of the course and interviews with the riders

Popowski rides for Juwi-Slipstream Cycling Team and won the Mt. Evans Hill Climb, Lookout Mountain Hill Climb and the Mike Horgan Hill Climbs in 2011. He also is the record holder of the ride up Pikes Peak.

Creed rides for the Optum Pro Cycling/Kelly Benefits Team, and is a multi-time U.S. Champion and recently won the Madera Stage Race in California.

Nicol rides for Tokyo Joe's - Whole Foods/Primal Team, he is a 4- time winner of Colorado's Best All Around Rider award and the winner of Mt. Evans Hill Climb in 2008.
The peak had seen some snowfall over the past week but the riders were treated to a great day of weather.  The temperature was 40 degrees at the start line dipping down to 32 at the summit. The sky was crystal clear with little to no wind.

The riders climbed at a steady pace where they could talk and and even took a break to enjoy the views. The trio covered the 20km in just under 1 hr. and 40 minutes.  The group felt that the Pro Cat 1-2 Men's race on July 14th will have a time closer to 1 hr. 20 min. "There is no doubt that the group will attack this mountain at a faster speed." Stated Michael Creed. "We took it easy today but we also had great weather. You never know what to expect up here."  Creed will be competing in the Amgen Tour of California starting this Sunday.

Regarding the time limit that is in place for the Fun Ride participants (Fun Ride participants will have 3 hrs to complete the ride ) LeRoy Popowski commented "I think that the time is just right. To be honest most cycling enthusiasts who are ride regularly should be able to make it to the summit in 3 hrs. That is a speed of about 4 miles per hour."

Register for the Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb

One of the questions that seem to be asked by many is what gearing combinations should they use for the climb. Kevin Nicol, stated "I think a 34 x 26 would work for most riders.  Of course LeRoy rode up today in 39 x 23, but he is a monster!"
All three riders agreed that the pavement was great. Comments like it "rode like glass" and was "silky smooth" were repeated by all several times.  The Pikes Peak Highway is now paved completely to the summit. The final 1.5 miles of dirt was paved in September of last year so this group was the first to ride their bikes up the new pavement.