Two of the three stages of the professional women’s cycling race leading into the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Aspen have been canceled due to a lack of funding.

The Blue Ribbon Alpine Challenge is still on for a downtown criterium race taking place Aug. 22, just before the men finish that day’s Gunnison-to-Aspen stage of the Pro Challenge.

The race was to be the second edition of an event that started last year, co-founded by champion cyclist and Aspen native Jessica Phillips. The three-stage, three-day race started with a time trial up to the Maroon Bells, followed by a circuit race around Snowmass Village and finishing with a criterium in Aspen.

Race director Jan Koorn said organizers went into the summer hoping to attract more sponsors than title sponsor Blue Ribbon Restaurants, but the additional dollars never came in. Blue Ribbon remains a sponsor of the one-day event.

“We had to make the call,” Koorn said.

About 40 racers were confirmed when the event was still three days. Koorn said a few would likely drop out, but he expects at least 30 to still be in the criterium, a race that features multiple laps on a windy course through downtown streets. The race is open to women’s cyclists who are category 1 or 2 professionals.

The three-day race would have cost about $75,000 to put on, while the one-day tab is about $40,000, Koorn said. He added that the local organizing committee for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge has been supportive, and the women’s race is taking advantage of the infrastructure that will be set up for the men’s race.

Read more about the race.