The Schaden family is relinquishing control of the USA Pro Challenge, giving hope to the future of the high-profile professional cycling race across Colorado.

With the Schadens stepping aside, race organizers now are pursuing a new ownership model: a large collection of community-based and national investors — not just a single family — that will give the race the long-term viability that draws even more investors, said race chief Shawn Hunter.

“People want to know there’s a plan for long-term success and they want to see a homegrown ownership group. Having more than one individual in charge is a good thing,” Hunter said. “I think there are a lot of people here in Colorado who will be a part of this group and some people on the national level who have watched what we have built and want to be a part of it. The goal is not just raising money. We want strategic investors who understand this opportunity and are willing to grow it.”

Denver businessman Ken Gart is joining Hunter in the search for investors.

Gart, who is leading Gov. John Hickenlooper’s $100 million “Pedal Colorado” plan to improve bike and pedestrian pathways across the state, said preserving the bike race “is very aligned” with the governor’s strategy to make Colorado the nation’s top state for bicycling.

“I think anybody who does this is going to have a broader social goal. You are not doing this because its an opportunity to make a great and immediate return on your investment,” said Gart, noting that none of the federal transportation funds and Colorado Lottery proceeds slated to fund the Pedal Colorado plan will be diverted to the Pro Challenge race.

“You must do this because you believe in Colorado and you want to make an impact and you believe this is the platform to do something exciting,” he said.

Father and son Richard and Rick Schaden, former owners of the lawsuit-plagued Quiznos franchise chain, spent about $20 million of their own money to float the race through its first five years, whittling its annual losses to $2 million this year from $10 million in 2011.

In a statement, Rick Schaden said owning the race was “an honor and privilege for our family.”

He did not sell the race. In August, he told The Denver Post he didn’t think the Pro Challenge was an asset that could be sold. He said was planning to “work the phones real hard” after the race, reaching out to host cities and the statehouse for more government support for the race.

“It’s a great investment in the community,” he said in August. “For investing whatever that gap is, 2 million or 3 million bucks, you are bringing back another $120 million for your community. It’s an unusually high return if you look at is as a community spend.”

The Pro Challenge has become the largest spectator event in Colorado, with hundreds of thousands of people lining the race route. Those spectators generate an annual economic impact of more than $100 million as the race winds through high country hamlets like Aspen, Breckenridge, Vail and Steamboat Springs.

“The Schadens deserve our gratitude for their generous support,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “This race has grown to be one of our most celebrated events and I look forward to assisting in this important transition.”

Rick Schaden had planned on a five-year investment in the race. He called it a long-term play and a “privately-funded community asset.”

But after five years he expected to have a title sponsor that could cover the final deficit — like the Tour of California’s Amgen.

Hunter had corralled an array of diverse sponsors, from Lexus and Pepsi to Edward Jones Investments and beer brewer Sierra Nevada, but that title sponsor remained elusive.

Pro cycling has its challenges, with doping scandals and a history of failed tours across the U.S. But Pro Challenge insiders said many potential title sponsors — oil and gas, health care and sporting goods companies — balked at the race because of the Schadens’ toxic legal history.

The Schadens have a lengthy history as targets of vitriolic lawsuits. After years of Quiznos franchisee lawsuits, the Schadens sold the sandwich chain to behemoth hedge funds Avenue Capital and Fortress Holdings in 2012. Two years later, the funds — two of the biggest lenders in the insular world of professional sports — sued Rick Schaden and his Quiznos team, alleging a conspiracy to dupe the investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now the real work begins for Hunter. He’s already made progress is establishing a wide base of partners and sponsors. He and Gart will be circling back to an even broader array of potential supporters — telecommunications companies, marketing groups, pharmaceutical companies — that have expressed interest in helping out in recent years.

Building that diverse base helps take the pressure off landing that one big title sponsor, Hunter said.

“I think there are a lot of people out there who want to be a part of this for the long-term,” he said.

While there’s no question the race generated tremendous exposure for Colorado — especially in international markets where televised images of alpine vistas reached 200 countries — the state’s tourism leaders are not likely to increase support for the race.

In the race’s second year, the Colorado Tourism Office upped its contribution to $500,000 from $300,000. There has been no discussion about increasing funding above that level, said departing office director Al White.

White points to the weeklong Tour of Missouri, which collapsed in 2009 when a shift in political winds suddenly extinguished a vital $1.5 million contribution. Pro Challenge organizers also allow that reliance on fickle public funding can be detrimental to the race.

“I’m afraid trying to inch that up may get us to the breaking point somewhere down the road where the board says enough is enough and the entire investment goes away,” said White on his final day as director. “It’s needs to be an investment we can sustain over the years.”

Hunter and his Pro Challenge team will be scrambling for the next two months. This is already their busy time as they line-up sponsors, invite teams from across the world, enlist host cities and lay out a new route.

Now they have the added task of building a new ownership model for the race. “Now that we know the direction, it’s easier to have those conversations with potential sponsors,” Hunter said. “We have not been able to talk to anyone until today.”

For next year’s route, Hunter said Pueblo and Grand Junction are eager to join the race as hosts. He’d like to return to Vail, which sat out this year’s race. He said the excitement from hosts across Colorado “is a testament to the partnerships we have built.”

A new sponsor — ideally one from Colorado — will bolster the state’s profile on the international stage, White said.

“A local investment group will make this race even more of a Colorado icon,” White said. “This race traverses elevations no other race in the world goes over and that’s Colorado’s identity, too — like no other in the world.”

Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or @jasonblevins