ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The 37th annual Tucson Bicycle Classic (TBC) three day event concluded Sunday at Naranja Park in Oro Valley.
The TBC is a stage race that started Friday morning with the individual time trial in Marana then moved to downtown Tucson in the evening for a new criterium style bike race called Rio Nuevo Criterium presented by Visit Tucson.
Saturday's event was the Sahuarita Road Race.
Marco Colbert, TBC Race Director says the riders raced around the mines, with each lap being 20 miles, making it 80 miles for the pro men and women.
The finale was on Sunday called the Oro Valley Circuit Race presented by Rutledge Dental.
A new and shorter course this year for the circuit race included going through Oro Valley's Naranja Park, starting and ending on Musette Drive; a road that Colbert has been waiting three years for it to be completed.
"This is a beautiful way to finish a bike race. It's an uphill finish. This is challenging for anybody. Five percent, four percent, six percent grade right down there, which for me at least, six percent is awfully painful," Colbert described.
This climb tested riders on their strength and determination lap after lap, especially for the pro men and women who raced for 75 minutes.
"The riders are racing for what's called the GC, the General Classification. The winner, it's cumulative overall four stages. The pros, it's cumulative by time and whoever has the least amount of time is the winner and certain laps, riders acquire points. If you're first to cross the finish line, you might get three seconds and that could make the difference," said Colbert.
Nathan Cusack, winner of the circuit race for the pro men's heat, says this race was very close but knew he had to be patient to make his way to the line.
"I knew because of the uphill sprint it was going to be a long sprint. I didn't want to hit the wind very early and so I just waited, waited, waited and as soon as I saw the opportunity, I just went for it," Cusack said.
Cusack is a student at the University of Vermont and says he's been riding and racing since he was nine years old.
"In March, I'm going to be heading over to Europe to race a bunch of the under 23s over there," Cusack says. "And then I'll be back to racing in California later this year and Nationals in May."
Patrick Welch, who traveled from Boulder, Colorado won the overall pro men's group by having the shortest time throughout the series.
He took third place last year and says this year was more interesting.
"With the night crit on Friday and then this stage today being shorter and more intense, I think the race was a lot more aggressive then it was last year. It was a lot less controlled," said Welch.
He says he's been riding since he was three years old, taking after his parents. He loves the freedom to go wherever he wants while enjoying nature.
Welch races for a non-profit organization called Above + Beyond Cancer.
"It's based in Des Moines, Iowa fostering support for active lifestyles for people who have cancer or are at risk of cancer and people who have recovered from cancer to hopefully help stave off any reoccurring symptoms," says Welch.
Just under 600 riders participated throughout the weekend, coming from all over the nation and from as many as ten foreign countries.
Colbert says Tucson is a great host city for this event because of the warm weather, and it also helps boost the local economy.
You can find more race results here.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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