Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb facts for kids
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | August |
| Region | Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, United States |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Type | One-day race |
| History | |
| First edition | 1973 |
| Editions | 51 |
| First winner |  John Allis (USA) |
| Most wins | Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phillip Gaimon (USA) (4 wins each) Aimee Vasse (USA) (5 wins) |
| Most recent | Cameron Cogburn (USA) Kristen Kulchinsky (USA) |
The Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is an exciting yearly bicycle race in New Hampshire, USA. Riders race up Mount Washington, a very tall mountain. This event also helps raise money for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center, an organization that teaches people about protecting nature.
About the Race
Each August, up to 600 cyclists gather for this challenging race. They ride 7.6 miles (12.2 km) to the very top of Mount Washington. This mountain is the highest peak in all of New England.
The Mount Washington Auto Road is very steep. On average, it goes up 12% of the way, but some parts are as steep as 22%! Imagine riding your bike up a hill that steep!
Race Records and Changes
A famous winner of this race is Tyler Hamilton. He won the race four times, with his fastest time in 2006 being 52 minutes and 21 seconds. Before 2022, the fastest time for men was 49 minutes and 24 seconds, set by Tom Danielson. For women, the record was 58 minutes and 14 seconds, set by Jeannie Longo.
However, in 2011, race organizers decided to remove some past records. This happened because some riders, like Tyler Hamilton and Genevieve Jeanson, admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Their amazing times were no longer considered official records.
In 2022, the race course changed. The road, which used to have gravel sections, became fully paved. Because of this big change, the race organizers decided to reset all the records.
Now, the current men's record is 50 minutes and 38 seconds, set by Phillip Gaimon in 2022. The current women's record is 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 8 seconds, set by Kristen Kulchinsky in 2024.
Past Winners
| Year | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 |  John Allis |
1:15:05 | Unknown | |
| 1974 | John Allis |
1:01:39 | Unknown | |
| 1975 | Results unknown | |||
| 1976 | John Howard | Barbara Amburgey | ||
| 1977 | Mike Hogan | 58:24 | Ester Salmi | |
| 1978 |  Martin Ernst Bruhn |
1:03:21 | Unknown | |
| 1979 | Steve Pyle | 1:01:29 | Unknown | |
| 1980 | Dale Stetina | 0:57:41 | Unknown | |
| 1981 | Steve Pyle | Unknown | Beth Heiden | 1:16:30 (new wm's record) |
| 1982 | Matt VonWahzle | 1:06:22 | Murrie Green | 1:14:24 (new wm's record) |
| 1983 | Gary Evans | Unknown | ||
| 1984 | Chuck Canfield |
1:03:45 | Martha Tuttle | 1:29:46 |
| 1985 | Chuck Canfield |
0:59:59 | Martha Pitman | 1:18:58 |
| 1986 | Chuck Canfield |
0:28:22 | Kathy Swanson | 0:31:52 (shortened due to weather) |
| 1987 | Dan Works | 1:06:20 | Kathy Swanson | 1:23:12 |
| 1988 | Dan Works | 1:07:48 | Debbie Jensen | 1:21:31 |
| 1989 | Tai Roulston | 1:10:16 | Megan Hayes | 1:22:48 |
| 1990 | Douglas Tanner | 1:05:13 | Kathy Swanson | 1:19:25 |
| 1991 | Andrew de Garmo |
1:01:30 | Mary Serreze | 1:24:40 |
| 1992 | Mike Nelson | 1:02:47 | Suzy West | 1:16:17 |
| 1993 | Joe Bucciaglia |
1:02:33 | Jodi Groesbeck | 1:16:51 |
| 1994 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 1995 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 1996 | Joe Bucciaglia |
1:00:30 | Marilyn Ruseckas | 1:14:19 |
| 1997 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:51:56 | Marilyn Ruseckas |
1:11:38 |
| 1998 | Robert Dapice |
0:59:19 | Dorrie Martell |
1:11:56 |
| 1999 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:50:21 | Geneviève Jeanson |
1:01:57 |
| 2000 | Tim Johnson |
0:55:46 |  Jeannie Longo |
0:58:14 (record) |
| 2001 | Tim Johnson |
0:53:31 |  Karen Bockel |
1:09:20 |
| 2002 | Tom Danielson |
0:49:24 (record invalidated in 2011) | Geneviève Jeanson |
0:54:02 (record invalidated in 2011) |
| 2003 | Tom Danielson |
0:51:05 | Geneviève Jeanson |
0:59:58 |
| 2004 | Justin England |
0:58:50 | Aimee Vasse |
1:10:44 |
| 2005 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:51:11 | Aimee Vasse |
1:12:38 |
| 2006 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:52:21 | Aimee Vasse |
1:08:31 |
| 2007 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 2008 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:54:57 |  Flavia Lepene |
1:08:52 |
| 2009 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:54:37 | Sue Schlatter |
1:07:43 |
| 2010 | Nico Toutenhoofd |
0:57:26 | Marti Shea |
1:05:42 |
| 2011 | Ned Overend |
0:55:03 | Marti Shea |
1:04:12 |
| 2012 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:52:28 | Marti Shea |
1:03:14 |
| 2013 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:50:48 | Silke Wunderwald |
1:09:56 |
| 2014 |  John Kronborg Ebsen |
0:52:53 | Marti Shea |
1:06:01 |
| 2015 | Eneas Freyre |
0:53:00 | Véronique Fortin |
1:05:58 |
| 2016 | Eneas Freyre |
0:52:10 | Victoria DiSavino |
1:07:32 |
| 2017 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:52:10 | Aimee Vasse |
1:07:32 |
| 2018 | Barry Miller |
0:53:34 | Aimee Vasse |
1:04:05 |
| 2019 | Erik Levinsohn |
0:53:42 | Stefanie Sydlik |
1:10:32 |
| 2020 | Race canceled due to Covid-19 | |||
| 2021 | Erik Levinsohn |
0:51:59 | Aimee Vasse |
1:13:24 |
| 2022 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:50:38 (Record) | Courtney Nelson |
1:09:35 |
| 2023 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 2024 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:52:01 | Kristen Kulchinsky |
1:06:08 |
More Mountain Races
- Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race
- Mount Washington Road Race
