Tulsa Tough Takes Over Downtown

<p>The first night of Tulsa Tough is underway and cyclists are racing in the Blue Dome District.</p>

Friday, June 10th 2016, 9:53 pm

By: News On 6

The first night of Tulsa Tough is underway and cyclists are racing in the Blue Dome District.

Teams from all over the world make the three-day cycling event a stop on their race calendar.

“This is the hardest racing we'll do all year," said cyclist Colin Bromley.

Bromley and his teammates made the trek from Austin.

“This is my second year here,” added Bromley. “You can tell, that this area has blown up since [last year], just probably a third more. [It] seems like it's growing."

And that growth is selling out races.

“We fill these races up and we turn people away,” said Malcolm McCollam of the Tulsa Tough. “We've had people on the waiting list for three months."

National Criterium Champion Kimberly Pettit calls Tulsa home. She says Tulsa Tough is drawing more people into the sport.

“It's just awesome. Tulsa has become such a big bike community and a lot of it's because of Tulsa Tough,” Pettit explained. “We're just becoming more aware, like people around the world know about Tulsa Tough now because of the attendance and of course Cry Baby Hill."

The growth is also inspiring a new generation of cyclists.

"I'm going to ride at the kids race, and I'm going to beat every one of them," said Garren Brazeal.

The racing continues Saturday in the Brady Arts District at 10 a.m.