Dear people who decided to award a Vail and Beaver Creek Lifetime Ski Pass on Stage 3 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge:
For starters, you guys are great. How cool is that to give the time trial stage winner that prize! Proper cool, as our favorite British cyclists would say, which brings us to the point: we love our pro cyclists. As far as we’re concerned, they make the world go ’round. Captain America has even started to wear a Dave Zabriskie jersey; that’s how powerful cycling is.
As you know, since you retweeted it, fan-favorite Christian Vande Velde posted the following after stage winner Levi Leipheimer edged Christian out by half of one second: “Thanks everyone who came out to Vail today. Insane day, almost perfect. Still, happy to go fast and be back on the podium. #heartbreak” Vande Velde sure is a classy guy, which is why his heartbreak is ours.
We know you’re business people and can’t just be handing out free lifetime passes to anyone and everyone that squishes into spandex, but this is different. There are many reasons why, but we’ll just name ten of them to help make our case.
1. Did we mention it was half a freaking second that split Levi and Christian? Blink, no wait, you took too long. Try again. Still can’t get it? Yeah, that’s the point. Christian’s time still beat the previous course record. That’s not worth a pass?
2. Vail needs a skier like Christian around to stir up the competition and excite friendly rivalries. What better way to ensure that void will get filled? We’re not asking for much.
3. If Christian doesn’t get a lifetime free pass, Levi may never get a hot shower again. Do you really want that on your conscience? No, Greg Henderson isn’t really going to come through on his neighborly offer to Levi. Don’t even try to cop-out on this one. No lifetime pass for Christian, no hot shower for Levi. We hope you can sleep at night.
4. There’s still some confusion as to the spelling of Vande Velde. No space or yes space. There’s obviously a space on the Slipstream Sports site, but why do so many people still keep leaving it out? Because your lifetime ski passes come with a name on them, this will be able to clear up the confusion once and for all. Can you imagine the attention you will receive from solving that mystery? The tune of “You’ll go down in history, like Elvis Presley” will now become “like those Vail guys.”
5. To put it mildly, Christian is hot. This guy can boost industry like nobody’s business. The ladies of Vail will thank you in dollars just to get a glimpse of this guy on the slopes. Do you know who else is hot? Christian’s friends. JV, Tommy D, David Millar, DZ. Okay, so a handful of them are married–we’re not saying we’re going to hit on them. Their presence will still raise interest, regardless.
6. Back to David Millar. David Millar loves Christian, and we love David Millar. You do, too. Everyone does. Look at this cute profile picture of David kissing Christian’s cheek. Imagine how much cuter it would be with a Beaver Creek Resort logo in the background. Let’s make this happen.
7. Look at how nice these Garmin boys are. Christian will be nice to the children he meets in Vail, too. There will be so much encouragement and goodwill going around, and everyone will ask: “Who made this all possible? Oh yeah, those nice decision makers who authorized a second free lifetime pass. I better call and make my reservation today!”
8. Remember all that Lance vs. Christian talk in “Blood, Sweat + Gears”? We all associate Lance with Aspen; now we can associate Christian with Vail. You guys need a cycling poster boy, and you can’t do better than Vande Velde. Aspen vs. Vail can finally have faces for the rivalry.
9. Christian rides for a Colorado-based team: judge it as a sponsorship opportunity, and recognize that the sponsorship makes sense. A guy like Vande Velde chooses to vacation and ski with you over everywhere else in the world? That’s bang for your buck right there.
10. That you’re still reading this is reason enough to hand over the pass: he’s a compelling guy and his story sucks you in. The story of you issuing him a pass is also going to suck the fans in. You’ll be able to hear it, all the way to the bank.
Come on, Argyle fans. Let’s start the campaign. Tell @vailmtn and @beavercreekmtn where we stand: with Christian, at the top of the slopes, where we belong.