Prologue August 22, 2011 — Colorado Springs, The opening time trial for the race began in the
Garden of the Gods national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.
Stage 1 August 23, 2011 — Salida to Crested Butte, The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending over
Monarch Pass and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of
Mount Crested Butte.
Stage 2 August 24, 2011 — Gunnison to Aspen, The
queen stage involved nearly of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of
Cottonwood Pass, and to
Independence Pass.
Stage 3 August 25, 2011 — Vail, Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with of climbing over only . The route was the same one used during time trials for the
Coors Classic in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by
Ben Day.
Stage 4 August 26, 2011 — Avon to Steamboat Springs, This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.
Stage 5 August 27, 2011 — Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended
Rabbit Ears Pass, a steep pass with about of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.
Stage 6 August 28, 2011 — Golden to Denver, The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film
American Flyers. Riders climbed
Lookout Mountain, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC. ==Classification leadership==