The professional cycling team sponsored by SmartStop Self Storage, the retail brand for Strategic Storage Trust Inc., will compete in the 2014 USA Pro Challenge in Colorado, Aug. 18-24. Team SmartStop Pro Cycling includes Michael Torckler, the 2013 Tour of Utah (King of Mountain) competition winner; Travis McCabe, National Race Calendar points leader; and Jure Kocjan, the UCI America team leader.

Team SmartStop is a newcomer to the stage race, a journey through the Colorado Rockies that finishes in Denver. Referred to as “America’s Race,” the event is one of the largest cycling events in U.S. history and the largest spectator event in Colorado’s history, according to a SmartStop press release. The 2014 USA Pro Challenge includes 26 teams. 

“We are extremely proud that Team SmartStop will be competing at this major cycling event,” said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust, a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust. “Our team includes the world’s top cyclists, and we are proud of their dedication, determination and skills.”

Most recently, Team SmartStop competed in the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, Aug. 4-10. The event included more than 120 professional cyclists representing 26 countries. The race was the first competition sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s international governing body, since the Tour de France concluded in July. In May, the SmartStop team placed riders first and second at the USA Pro Road Race National Championships.

Launched in 2008, Strategic Storage Trust operates a portfolio of 126 self-storage facilities in 17 states and Canada. The properties comprise approximately 80,000 units and 10.5 million rentable square feet of storage space.