Stage Races for non-pros
 

Most of us enjoy following stage races ridden by the pros, but as amateurs with full time jobs it’s not feasible to take 2 or 3 weeks to do a stage race. So, what are the best stage races out there for the rest of us?

This one in Oregon looks interesting, 4 races over 3 days, and I’ll probably do it.
http://www.elkhornclassic.com/

Are there any others that any of you would recommend?

In the Northeast, the green mountain stage race, Auburn Stage Race, Bear mountain?, and Maybe Syracuse Race Weekend?

San Dimas Stage Race, down here in SoCal is this month, like you, I'm out with a fractured elbow and will be missing it :mad: . It's 3 days: ITT, Road Race, and Crit.

Everest Challenge, 2 days in the Bishop area in the Eastern Sierras. You may not think 2 days is much for a stage race, but it's plenty (200 miles with 29,000' of climbing). I'll be doing this in Sept. for my second year in a row.

Palmdale Stage Race, this is next month and is put on by CBR. ITT and crit on Sat, Road Race on Sunday.

Tour de Murrieta, 2 day stage race between Temecula and North San Diego. This is the weekend before San Dimas, another one that I'll have to pass on. Crit race on Sat, and Circuit race on Sun.

I know there's more in SoCal, and there's also some Omnium events. Most of our "Stage Races" are 2 day events, with a crit one day and a road race another. Not quite the same as the big stage races. Are you considering Everest Challenge this year?

I know they hold stage races here in CT that last a few days as well.....

Thanks for the info. I'm not too interested in the 2 race crit/rr "stage race", but I'd like to do the Everest Challenge. As a climber, I think it suits me well, but I'd have to work on my endurance for a race of that length. Do the 2 races have mountain top finishes?

My elbow is feeling a lot better, except that I keep bumping it into things :mad: .
But I plan to be racing again in a few weeks :D .
I hope yours heals quickly too.

Both days of Everest Challenge end at the top of 20 mile climbs, day one ends just shy of 10,000', day two ends at 10,100'. Last year I started training for it in late July, I plan to start as early as May this year.
My elbow doesn't feel too bad, it just doesn't bend (fractured the radial head) :( . Doc said no racing for 6-8 weeks, I'm gonna try my best to be at Sea Otter, that's about 6 weeks on the nose.

Northeast stage races are: Fitchburg and Green Mountain as the two biggies. Then there's the Working Man's and Owasco. This year there is also supposed to be a "Vermont Stage Race" with 3 races over two day, and they may try to run the Mt Washington deal with part of Mt W, the Storyland Crit and the Great Glen cyclo-cross course.
Elsewhere...Tour de Tuna and Superweek (not a stage race per say but...)

DrW...are you talking about the Aurburn race in Maine? That's just a normal RR/crit weekend? Same (I thought) with Syracuse.

Auburn is the Owasco stage race...as for Syracuse, I thought they did a road race, crit, and instead of TT a set of street sprints with points awarded to GC for each race. I might be wrong on that one though. Thanks for the info on Fitchburg. I will have to see where that comes in on the calender.

EDIT: I am an idiot. It is already on my calender. I think of it as Longsjo. :eek:

The Ft Davis stage race is a great one in West Texas http://www.peytonsbikes.com/Hammerfest%202005.htm

We have several stage races a year here. Fayetteville is coming up in couple of weeks and thats a good one too. I'm doing both of these this year.

Anyone know of any in the Southeast?

this stage race at 7springs in pennsylvania - http://pittsburgh.about.com/gi/dynam...aracing.com%2F

Splitting hairs but Syracuse is an omnium and yes there are street sprints in downtown Syracuse for additional GC points. I don't think the sprints are much of a factor for GC but they're great to watch and look like fun.

wayne

I didn't see any stage race listed. Seven Springs is holding USCF road nationals for all categories this year though.

If you are looking to do a real stage race (more than 3 days), then head to Islands. There are numerous stage races throughout the year and it only requires that you form a team and call the director with your intentions. You'll need an international license (extra $50 to your domestic).

I have done racing in the Dominican Republic 2x (8days), Tobago (4days) and Martinique (9days). I am a cat1, but we always had a couple cat3's on our team and they had no problem making time cuts and surviving to the finish.

If you are a cat4-5, then I would say look into things like Superweek, or 3-4 day stage races that take place all over the country throughout the summer.

Thanks. I have never been up there. Only heard about it from local guys. I stand corrected! I should be careful before opening my big mouth!

Have you raced that one before? Any good?

I haven't done the race (I will this year) but several friends and teammates have. Not sure about the road race but the crit course is nice, it's a closed loop in a city park, so all the corners are sweeping with a short moderate hill. The street sprints are interesting, I'm not sure of the distance but it seemed picking the right gear to start in was key. If I recall correctly the speeds were topping out around 30 mph so it doesn't strictly favor the huge sprinter types. There are a bunch of pictures at onondagacyclingclub.org if you're interested...

wayne

http://www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com/

You can watch pro's and do some racing for yourself. Tons of climbing. Cat 5 need not apply.(can't)

deaddogclassic.com

The Dead Dog Classic in Wyoming. June 24-25 I believe.

I beleive this has already been mentioned, but if you really want a Bike Racing education take a 2 week vacation and do this (Super Week).
http://www.internationalcycling.com/home.shtml

I beleive even a 4/5 can race 16 days in a row.

Yep Dead Dog Classic is 24 and 25 June 2006. Laramie, Wyoming - two hours from Denver and Boulder CO via I-25 and I-80. ACA sanctioned but if you are USCF you can buy one day licences. Two days three races. Saturday 86 mile RR with 6600 feet of climbing (up to 10800 feet elevation) for Senior Men Pro 1,2,3. Shorter distances and less climbing for other cats. Sunday morning crit and Sunday afternoon time trial. TT is kind of interesting this year. Probably the highest elevation "flat" TT in America. Start 8888 ft, turn five miles later at 8450 ft then back to finish at 8888 ft. Mens pro winner last year was Clayton Barrows, a local racer. He beat Mike Creed (Discovery Channel - Now TIAA CREF) and Phil Zajicek (Navigators). Women's overall went to New Zealand pro Jo Kiesanowski. Barrows should be back this year (he finished 4th overall in Valley of the Sun earlier this year). The race had 320 participants (all categories) last year and we think there colud be 400 this year.

Here is another So Cal stage race http://www.mesp.com/ctc/

I've ridden this course and this could be a fun one!

Cascade Classic in Oregon, our own Madera stage race, Pilarcitos in Half Moon Bay and Tucson Classic (they didn't either one this year but are trying to put them together for next), Tour De Nez in Reno, Valley of the Sun, and the Reno Wheelmen do a low key three night stage race every year.

There's also Gap in Utah, which would suit you well.

Yeah. I watched Clayton clean up many times in the Collegiate Men's A races. That guy's a beast - remember his name, folks.