Tour of Utah Executive Director
Jenn Andrs shakes the hand of the
eventual race champion, Joe Dombrowski.
THE 2015 TO UR O F UTA H
BRINGING THE WORLD TO OUR DOORSTEP
As American Joe Dombrowski of Team Cannondale-Garmin Pro
Cycling fended off the top cyclists in the world to win the 2015
Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in front of huge crowds in Park City,
Jenn Andrs was wrapping up a herculean feat of her own. Jenn
is the only full-time LHM employee of the Tour of Utah, and
awarding the final Larry H. Miller Dealerships Yellow Leader’s
Jersey put the finishing touch on more than a year’s worth of
preparation, planning and execution.
“Putting on the Tour of Utah is like a marathon and a sprint all
rolled into one,” said Jenn. “It takes 16 months of planning and
logistics—definitely an endurance pace—but once race week
arrives, it’s a non-stop sprint to the finish.”
This is Jenn’s fifth year helping to make the Tour a reality. She
joined the LHM Group in 2013 as the Tour of Utah’s project
manager and was promoted to
executive director in 2014. She
previously worked on the Tour as part
of the team from Medalist Sports in
2011 and 2012.
The 2015 edition of the Tour of Utah,
known as “America’s Toughest Stage
Race,” included 712 miles of racing
and 51,442 feet of elevation gain
over the course of seven days of
competition. Four different riders wore
the overall leader’s yellow jersey until
Dombrowski climbed into the lead
on day six’s Queen Stage—billed as
the most difficult day of racing. Dombrowski sealed the win as
he crossed Sunday’s finish line in Park City in front of recordbreaking crowds.
Inviting the world’s best professional cyclists to come play in
your backyard is a daunting undertaking, but one for which
Jenn, her team, and the communities at large were ready.
“We love the Tour,” said Randy Cook, with Bountiful’s office of
tourism and events. “The Tour of Utah brought our community
together and allowed us to display the pride we have in our city
on an international scale. It was a grand way to show off our
historic downtown community,” Indeed, one of Jenn’s and the
Tour’s goals is to create a picture-perfect postcard for every
city and community that plays host to a stage of the event.
Planning for the 2015 edition of the
Tour of Utah began back in March
2014. The organizers start by taking
a look at the places they have been
in the past, as well as exploring new
places the Tour has never visited. “We
try to create a beautiful backdrop for
each stage for the racers and the fans,
and showcase the state of Utah in a
spectacular way,” said Jenn.
In the end, it all comes down to
logistics. “The Tour of Utah represents
a traveling circus as it moves from
one location to the next,” according