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BISBEE — The 29th edition of La Vuelta de Bisbee bicycle race rides this weekend.
The participation could be the largest since the smaller version of the race re-emerged six years ago.
Race organizer Albert Hopper said he expects upwards of 100 male racers in the professional class after getting 80 last year. He said he closed the men’s masters division prior to last night’s deadline for the other classes.
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The only class down in numbers figures to be the women’s professional class which Hopper figures will have around 35 after 40 last year.
Some of the top teams in this weekend’s event includes two from Mexico — Tecos and Halcones, which featured the winner of the recent Tucson Bike Classic.
La Vuelta regular returnees such as Rocky Mountain Chocolate from Colorado and Successful Living from Phoenix, Jelly Belly, as well as a return of the U.S. Armed Forces Team which sat out last year’s race, give the race a familiar color.
Newcomers include California Giant Berry, Colavita Racing from the east coast and Ride Clean, a team that tours with a message against performance-enhancing drugs, give the race a fresh look.
That newness makes it difficult to predict a race favorite. Drew Miller, a former champion and last year’s third-place finisher is back, but as of Tuesday, Hopper wasn’t certain whether defending champion Phil Zajicek would be entering.
“This is what I like about it,” Hopper said. “I could care less who’s racing; I just like to see the competition. Every rider who wins here goes on to ride with a pro team somewhere else,” Hopper added, pointing most recently to Ivan Stevic. He didn’t win the race overall two years ago, but he led wire-to-wire and opened the door for a teammate to take the overall title.
The race kicks off Friday afternoon, with the Mule Pass Time Trial. From 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., cyclists will be going up and coming down Tombstone Canyon and although the road will stay open, motorists are asked to use caution.
On Saturday, Main Street will be closed for short periods between 10 and 11:30 for the Stage 1 road race, and Saturday afternoon, Arizona Street (Airport Road), will be closed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Border Road and Purdy Lane will be open during that time for access to Bisbee.
On Sunday, traffic will be delayed for short periods on Highway 80 on both sides of the Divide for the final stage Tombstone road race which will end atop the Mule Pass Tunnel sometime after 10 a.m.
