Organizers for the Tour of the Gila, have announced the UCI ranked men’s and women’s confirmed for this year’s race, which get’s underway this week.
Despite teetering on the brink of extinction, the Tour of Gila continues to remain one of the few races in the USA, which still features traditional stage racing, to include challenging climbs, a time trial and a high-speed criterium, for both amateur and pro riders.
The racing begins on Wednesday with a 148km stage from Silver City to Mogollon with a 10km finishing climb, followed by the Inner Loop road race, which climbs over the Continental Divide before swooping down a long, steep descent toward the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument before turning back to Bayard. The stage 3 time trial in Tyrone, traverses the Little Burro Pass twice in 26.6km. The riders get a break from the major climbs in the stage 4 criterium in Silver City before heading out for the grand finale on Sunday, the 162km stage from Silver City to Pinos Altos known as the Gila Monster, will feature no fewer than five categorized climbs and an uphill finish.
Confirmed UCI men’s teams Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies Silber H&R Block UnitedHealthcare Hincapie Racing Orgullo Antioqueno Drapac Lupus Team SmartStop Jamis Hagens Berman Jelly Belly-Maxxis California Giant-Specialized iRT Racing Canyon-Shimano Intermountain Livewell Axeon Isagenix Incycle-Cannondale Airgas-Safeway
UCI women’s teams Team TIBCO-SVB UnitedHealthcare Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies BMW-Happy Tooth Dental Group Twenty 16-Sho-Air ITAU Shimano Ladies Power UAEM Grassi Pro Cycling Team Mexico DNA Cycling Fearless Femme-Haute Wheels Racing
Australia’s Drapac, Orgullo Antioqueno, Lupus racing, Intermountain Livewell, Isagenix, Team Superissimo, Altovelo-Seasucker, and Amore-Vita-USA will all be making their first trips to the Gila.
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