This Week Youth are Treated by some School Visits by Professional Cyclists
It is almost race time for the 32nd year of the Tour of the Gila, which is one of the top three professional cycling events in North America, happening right here in Silver City. There will be 17 professional men’s and 10 women’s cycling teams, plus dozens of amateurs. UCI teams will experience five days of racing from April 18 through April 22. Riders are from four different continents, with one team from as far away as Australia.
Last year’s Tour of the Gila’s overall winner (General Classification) for men, Evan Huffman of Rally Cycling, will be returning this year to defend his title. Youth at Bayard Elementary will be getting a chance to meet Evan Huffman personally on Wednesday, as he and team member Kyle Murphy will be visiting the school. Other elementary school visits in the Cobre School District will be happening this week, including the mobius BridgeLane men’s team from Australia visiting Central and Hurley Elementary also on Wednesday and the Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling women’s team visiting San Lorenzo Elementary on Thursday. School visits are being planned at some of the Silver Consolidated schools at the beginning of next week.
The Tour of the Gila race has long been an iconic race based on its difficult challenges the courses present from over 10,000 feet of climbing, to 19 percent gradient climbs, to critical descents, and even gusty winds. But whatever the Gila has to offer, teams are sure to be ready for the challenge as many riders are the top of their fields. Olympians, world champions, Grand Tour winners have all made Tour of the Gila part of their history. This year is no different. For example from the QWC team, the Women’s National Road Champ is racing in the Tour of the Gila, along with a World Champion from the TWENTY20 Sho-Air cycling team.
In addition to dozens of professional teams who answer the call, numerous amateurs join the race to become “Gila Proven.” The Tour of the Gila is one of the few races in the United States, where amateurs can race the same courses as professionals. In addition, there are two days of citizen’s races. To learn more about the race, visit www.tourofthegila.com
One of the best days to experience this world-class cycling event as a spectator is on Saturday, April 21, for the downtown Silver City criterium race that starts at 8am and by late afternoon the top professionals will be racing. Don’t miss the action in downtown Silver City on Saturday, but every day has exciting opportunities to cheer on these athletes.
Here are the UCI Men’s Team competitive field this year: 303 Project, Aevolo Cycling, Canel’s Specialized, Gateway Harley-Davidson Trek Development, Cyclus Sports Starlight Factory Team, Echelon Development Team California, Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling, H&R Block Cycling, mobius BridgeLane, Pacific Premier Bank Cycling Team, Rally Cycling, Silber Pro Cycling, Support Clean Sport SeaSucker Guttenplan Coaching, Team Rio Grande, and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.
The UCI Women’s Teams include: ALP Cycles Racing, Colombian National Women's Team, CONADE Specialized Visit Mexico, Hagens Berman Supermint Pro Cycling Team, QWC Cycling, Rally Cycling, Roxsolt Attaquer, SWAPIT AGOLICO, TWENTY20 Sho-Air, and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.
Tour of the Gila is still looking for volunteers to help with the race, especially drivers. Please call Michelle at 575-590-0203. This is a great way to get involved first hand with the race and you don't need to be a cyclist. There are several types of positions ranging from a LEAD vehicle out in front of a category to a SAG vehicle that follows the end of a group and picks up racers if they can't finish the race. Drivers will learn the ropes prior to the race. For media inquiries, contact SkyWest Media, 575-538-3396.