El Tour de Tucson lets bicyclists challenge themselves, ride with their friends and family, give back to charity and enjoy Tucson’s sights.
In its 42nd year, the event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 22. All of the rides will begin and end at the Tucson Convention Center.
One of the largest bicycle rides in the country, El Tour de Tucson was founded by Richard DeBernardis in 1983.
The first year, the event had 198 participants. Now, around 11,000 cyclists take part in it.
Executive director TJ Juskiewicz said that people come in from all 50 states and from 25 different countries to participate in the event.
“A big chunk of people are from Mexico and Canada. We have people from Japan, Germany and Italy. One guy is from Slovakia,” Juskiewicz said.
He started in his position in 2020. He said since then, the event has grown a lot. They have made some changes to it while keeping elements that make it special.
“The event always ended in downtown, but some of the some of the rides started in different locations. That was one of the major changes, starting and ending all rides in one location. People seem to really like that. Instead of parking their car in one location and taking a shuttle, they’re able to start, finish and stay downtown, which is great for tourism,” Juskiewicz said.
El Tour offers rides for different skill levels and abilities. They have 102-mile, 62-mile and 32-mile rides, along with a 5K run/walk and family fun rides of 1 to 3 miles.
Juskiewicz said they try to keep the routes very similar, but sometimes they need to make adjustments based on construction.
Some roads are shut down during the race, but many streets are open.
Along the routes, there are water stations every 8 miles.
Support staff is available to help if riders break down or need assistance.
A majority of the riders take part in the 102-mile ride.
“Some people will take a full day on the bike. Some people will do it in under four hours… It’s mostly recreational but some people are here to set their personal best. We get all different types that come for El Tour,” Juskiewicz said.
Cyclists take part in the event for a wide variety of different reasons.
“Some people are riding because they lost a loved one, or it’s a personal challenge. They might have lost 50 pounds that year, and this is their culmination…. They just want to better their time. It’s a family reunion right before Thanksgiving for people… Some people ride it just for the heck of it. They just enjoy it,” Juskiewicz said.
A few participants have been taking part in the rides for decades.
“There’s some riders that have said they’ve ridden it 40 times…. For someone to do it 40 years, that’s something special. They aren’t too many of those,” Juskiewicz said.
Rides draw young children to people in their 90s.
Often, families and groups of friends will ride together. They also have supporters come out to cheer for them.
“There’s people that the husband’s riding, the wife’s riding, the grandfather’s riding. We want to make sure they have a good time. People are cheering them on along the way. They even meet them at the finish line to say, ‘Congratulations,’” Juskiewicz said.
Juskiewicz said some cycling enthusiasts who already ride together regularly do the event as a group.
There are also people who work with the same organizations, such as Rotary International, who come together for the rides.
A large number of hand cyclists take part in the event. Juskiewicz said they are one of the most adaptive-friendly rides in the country.
“We probably have more hand cyclists, riders with some sort of challenge, than just about any other ride in the country. We probably have close to 200 hand cyclists, some of the world’s best hand cyclists… Everybody’s got different types of challenges in their life, and we want to make sure that they have opportunities to ride the event,” Juskiewicz said.
Along with the rides, participants can also attend a three-day expo and fiesta at the Tucson Convention Center from Thursday, Nov. 20, to Saturday, Nov. 22.
The expo will have around 200 vendors selling bicycle products, accessories and apparel; product demos; giveaways; panels; contests; food trucks; live music and beer gardens.
Juskiewicz said many riders come in for the whole weekend to experience all the festivities.
Riders can choose to pick up their packets and credentials during the expo or on race day.
After finishing their routes on Saturday, cyclists can stay around for a post-ride celebration with live entertainment, food, drinks and an awards ceremony.
“People are really happy when they’re done with their ride. We try to give them a little send-of and congratulations. Friends and loved ones meet them there,” Juskiewicz said.
They will award prizes for first, second and third for the top male and female riders, along with giving out specialty awards.
All participants will receive a medal for finishing their rides.
Through the event, riders can give back to different charities.
“It might be Big Brothers Big Sisters. It might be the American Heart Association. We’ve got 120 different ones…We vet them to make sure if people are going to be donating money that they’re a legitimate 501C3. We let people sign up and raise funds. They get 100% of those funds.”
Last year, riders raised close to $10 million for different local charities.
“It’s really a testament to this town. It’s one of the best cycling communities in the entire country. The people in this community just love the event. Not only is a great healthy activity for people to do and showcase our really neat locations, but on top of that, it raises a lot of money for some great charities. When people are able to combine something they love with great causes, that’s really special,” Juskiewicz said.
Leading up to and after the rides, world champion and Olympic cyclists will lead five-day El Tour Prologue Camps from Wednesday, Nov. 19 to Sunday, Nov. 23. Participants will have a chance to learn from and ride with these top cyclists and announcers, including Tour de France champions.
These special guests will also be taking part in the El Tour rides.
El Tour de Tucson
WHEN: Expo and Fiesta Noon-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 20-21. 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday Nov. 22. Race Day registration and merchandise zone open 6 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Street, Tucson
COST: $200 for individuals, $400 for tandem racers, $145 for military or first responders, $30 for 5K run/walk, $15 for family run ride
INFO: eltourdetucson.org