I’m curious what kind of cycling races out there for amateurs are like Ironman (endurance, hype/hoopla, competitive,etc)?
There is not really anything for age-group cyclists that is similar.
The UCI runs the UCI World Cycling Tour - http://www.uciworldcyclingtour.com/
There are qualifying events* for the UCI Amateur and Master’s World Championships each year. This year they were held in Denmark.
My wife qualified and went to Denmark to race. She said it was an extraordinary experience racing with all the top age 40+ women in the world, including former Olympians, Olympic medalists, and many national and pro-tram riders. Serious and deep competition.
Next year in 2016 the World Championships are in Australia.
*We have one of these qualifying events near Toronto - http://greycountyroadrace.com/
Or perhaps it’s an race/event like the GFNY series that are now truly international with races/events around the world, with the World Championships, now set annually in New York in May - https://gfny.com/
Or it could be anyone of many very competitive and challenging, Gran Fondo’s, Century Rides and Sportifs all around the world
There is not one race/event or series that has captured the imagination and commitment of athletes in cycling the way Ironman has in triathlon.