From the Las Cruces Sun-News

Back to Tour of the Gila Homepage > News Homepage

Tour Of The Gila Has Reached National Calendar Status

By Chris Coon
Sun-News

The 14th Annual Wells Fargo Tour of the Gila bicycle race will be held May 3-7.

The Tour of the Gila is a two-, three- or five-day stage race depending upon the ability level in which participants enter.

Ability levels are referred to as categories and in the Tour of the Gila categories 1 through 5 and a professional category are offered for men.

Women can enter in a category from 1 to 4 or as a professional.

The lower the category number, the higher the skill level. For example, a professional has the highest skill level, followed by a category 1 racer and so on.

For men's and women's professional and categories 1-3, the race has five stages.

Men's professional and categories 1-2 will race 329 miles over five days and see 24,370 feet of climbing.

The men's category 3 and the women's professional and categories 1-3 will race a total of 250 miles and climb 18,010 feet.

For men's category 4-5 participants, the race will be a three-day event with 145 miles and 10,530 feet of climbing.

A couple of changes have been initiated for this year's race including a separate category for men's category 2 racers and the addition of a category 4 for women.

"Being on the national calendar last year attracted a lot of professional racers," explained race co-director Jack Brennan. "In the past, the category 2 racers competed in the same class as category 1 and professional racers. With the amount of professional racers we attracted last year, the race got really fast and many of the category 2 racers could not hang on to the pack."

This is the second year that the Tour of the Gila has been on the national calendar.

The races that are placed on the national calendar are determined by U.S.A. Cycling; racers get points for doing well at races on the calendar.

Additionally, only one race for a given time period is listed on the calendar so there are no conflicts, and as a result, the Tour of the Gila is seeing many professional racers from around the world.

"We were encouraged by racers over the past couple of years to apply for a listing on the calendar," said Brennan. "Racers have been telling us that the Tour of the Gila is difficult enough for a listing. I think another reason it was put on the calendar is because it is one of the only five-day races in the nation."

"The fact that you ride for five days in a row makes this a very difficult race. For example, in some other races, there is usually at least one day when you are not riding a bunch of miles," said 1999 Team 7-Up rider Jeff Corbett from Boulder, Colo.

"The Tour of the Gila is an excellent tune-up for some of the other races coming up," said Scott Cochran, 1999 Team 7-Up rider.

Another change to this year's race is the addition of a women's category 4 division.

Last year, the women's professional and categories 1-3 raced in the same division. Last year was also the first time in the history of the Tour of the Gila that a separate women's division existed.

Women's category 4 participants can race the final two days of the event.

"We still need volunteers," said Brennan. "Probably what we need the most are marshals for the criterium race on Saturday. We are asking that people work shifts for part of the day. We will need help for periods between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day."

For information on volunteering to help with the Tour of the Gila, call Brennan at Gila Hike and Bike, 388-3222.

Back to Tour of the Gila Homepage > News Homepage