Amateur Cyclists and Pro Cyclists Take on the Tour of the Gila
The iconic 2023 Tour of the Gila was held this past week from April 26-30 in the Gila Wilderness area of southwestern New Mexico in Silver City. The Tour of the Gila is on the UCI Cycling Calendar and features a stage race for elite domestic, professional cycling teams and amateur cyclists to compete in.
Since 1987, The Tour of the Gila has featured challenging courses at altitude and is considered one of the most prestigious stage races in North America for top cyclists to compete in each year.
The 2023 edition consisted of five stages including:
Stage 1 – Mogollon Road Race
For the UCI Men, this stage consisted of a grueling 92-mile race that includes 4,252 feet of climbing and the UCI Women raced 71.2 miles with 3,669 feet of climbing.
Stage 2 – The Inner Loop Road Race
This Inner Loop Road Race is a 74-mile race for both the UCI Men and UCI Women and features rolling hills with some climbing.
Stage 3 – The Tyrone Time Trial
The 16.15-mile individual time trial is held on a flat and fast course.
Stage 4 – The Downtown Silver City Criterium
This stage is a fast and technical criterium race that takes place on a 1.1-mile circuit through the streets of downtown Silver City.
Stage 5 – The Gila Monster Road Race
The Gila Monster Road Race is the Queen Stage for the 2023 Tour of the Gila. The UCI men covered 100.6 miles with 9,360 feet of elevation and the UCI Women raced 65.9 miles with 5,610 feet of climbing. The Tour of the Gila describes the stage as “The UCI Men’s race is the true monster, testing the strategies of cyclists and team directors alike as they tackle the turns, climbs and descents of the challenging European type roads.”
SoCalCycling.com Team Finds Success and Podiums
The SoCalCycling.com Team was selected to race in the Tour of the Gila for the second year in a row and put in a respectable race against some of the bigger budgeted Pro / Am Cycling teams despite being an underdog.
Irish rider Conn McDunphy (SoCalCycling.com Team) was off the front in many breakaways throughout the Tour of the Gila Downtown Silver City Criterium and then soloed in the last few laps before getting caught leading into the finish. This set up SoCalCycling.com Team sprinters Theo Obholzer and Mike Santillanes Garcia for the sprint where they finished 2nd and 6th respectively for a spot on the podium
McDunphy also finished in the top ten in several stages and finished 12th in Overall GC after riding in the break and finishing 11th in the epic The Gila Monster Road Race.
U23 rider Aden Wardrop (SoCalCycling.com Team) finished 4th Overall in the UCI Men Elite U23 and also spent time off the front in a breakaway in the Inner Loop Road Race.
Racing the Tour of the Gila was a great opportunity for the SoCalCycling.com Team to race against the bigger teams in a high-quality UCI stage race and was rewarding to find success!
2023 Tour of the Gila Overall Winners
UCI Men’s Race
After five days of racing consistently on each stage, Alex Hoehn (Above and Beyond Cancer) won the overall UCI Men’s Race by 2 seconds over Oscar Sevilla (Team Medellin – EPM). After an epic ride on the final stage where Hoehn and Sevilla were both off the front in the winning break at the Gila Monster Road Race. This stage saw Hoehn become the virtual leader in the break and then the eventual leader winning the Overall GC title in the UCI Men’s Race.
UCI Women’s Race
Austin Killips (Amy D Foundation) a transgender athlete won the overall GC in the UCI Women’s Race which caused some controversy among fellow racers and cycling fans on social media.
The Tour of the Gila wrote in a statement “This race marks the first time an openly trans athlete (Austin Killips from Amy D Foundation) has won a UCI Women’s Stage Race. Tour of the Gila is a UCI-sanctioned and regulated race; as such, Tour of the Gila is required to follow the rules and regulations set forth by UCI. All rules and regulations on racer eligibility and classification are set forth by the UCI and USA Cycling and must be followed by event organizers.”
Results
Top Photo – By Frank Sarate / SoCalCycling.com
