Northern Colorado organizers with the USA Pro Cycling Challenge have been working overtime to prepare for Saturday鈥檚 race stage. How hard have they been working?
The fix-potholes-and-assuage-worried-wedding-parties kind of hard. For Northern Colorado Cycling Technical co-chair Chris Johnson it also means biking and visually inspecting key parts of the 115-mile race course.
鈥淲e really want to be careful in corners, especially this one,鈥� Johnson said while examining the last turn cyclists will take in .
Why the close inspection? In a word, speed. Cyclists will be sprinting as fast as 35-miles per hour as they dash to the finish line at Mountain Avenue and College Street.
鈥淭he things we鈥檙e concerned about are the deeper things like potholes that will grab a wheel,鈥� said Johnson, who worked with the city of Fort Collins to smooth areas with asphalt. 鈥淵ou can actually see a couple of spots where they鈥檝e done some filling.鈥�
For Bob Herrfeldt, co-chair of the , no detail is too big or too small. This past week he鈥檚 spent most of his evenings driving sections of the course.
鈥淚鈥檓 taking bits and pieces of the course, just driving them as time permits in the evenings to double check that we didn鈥檛 miss anything,鈥� he said.
Stage 6 will have of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
In , , and most roads will see 鈥� meaning they鈥檒l be closed at some point between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

Certain points like Mall Road in downtown Estes Park and the lower part of the Big Thompson Canyon in Loveland will see closures for at least 2 hours.
That鈥檚 where the hard work of assuaging wedding parties comes in.
The race route is taking racers up and down Highway 34 in the canyon, creating headaches for . They鈥檙e hosting two weddings Saturday afternoon.
Working around the race means owner Shawn Ellis will have to open his property earlier than normal to allow venders and wedding parties to set up.
鈥淲e鈥檒l probably be starting at 4 or 5 o鈥檆lock in the morning,鈥� said Ellis.
The changes mean that Ellis is on the hook for paying his employees more. He鈥檚 also worried whether USA Pro Challenge spectator traffic will interfere with his intimate foothills setting.
鈥淣o wedding crashers,鈥� jokes Ellis. 鈥淭hat was a funny movie, but we don鈥檛 need it here.鈥�
In a field that plans years ahead of time, Ellis had hoped for more than just a few months of notice. With such a complicated route, USA Pro Cycling Challenge organizers didn鈥檛 finalize the course until April.
Local race co-chair Bob Herrfeldt acknowledges that there will be inconveniences Saturday, but he hopes residents will make the most of having a premiere sporting event in their own backyard.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 just game time. Where are you going to go on the day of the event?鈥� said Herrfeldt. 鈥淪tart planning your day out. Realize that there are going to be some inconveniences. But make the best out of it.鈥�
Need a hand to make the best of it? For a Stage 6 spectator guide of events click and more importantly, a full list of road closures can be found .