Steamboat Springs — It was far from an uncommon experience, and that was probably the point.

But local artist Chula Beauregard was riding her bike on the all-too-familiar route out to Lake Catamount with her mother.

“I saw the big sky and the road going through the fields they are going to race on,” Beauregard said. “I thought it would be a good idea for a painting.”

So did the local organizing committee for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Beauregard’s oil painting was chosen as the poster for the local stages of the race. The fourth and fifth stages of the race come to Steamboat on Aug. 26 and 27.

The painting features a trio of riders winding along a county road with a mountainous backdrop.

“It’s got a real nice feel to it,” said Jim Schneider, chairman of the local organizing committee. “She’s a great artist.”

Poster entries were submitted to the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and then the local organizing committee made its recommendation.

Beauregard said her work on the Bike Town USA mural — which is set to go up Monday on the Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare building downtown — helped her with the design.

Her studies have included examining bikers and biking environments.

“It’s an artistic study,” she said. “It’s sketching, taking pictures and really anchoring it in your mind. You want to make it believable when you put paint on the canvas.”

The original artwork will be displayed at Wild Horse Gallery of Steamboat Springs. The piece will eventually be auctioned off, with 20 percent of the proceeds going to Routt County Riders.

“It’s a real honor for me to be part of this artistically since I’m not a big racer,” Beauregard said.

Copies of the poster will be for sale Aug. 26 and 27 when the Pro Cycling Challenge is in Steamboat.

Posters also are available at http://www.usaprocyclingchallenge.com.

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com