Nevada City Classic facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nevada City Classic

Race details
Date	June (commonly on Father's Day)
Region	Nevada City, California, United States
Organiser	Charlie Allert
History
First edition	1961 (1961)
First winner	Bob Tetzlaff (USA)
Most recent	Gavin Murray (USA)

The Nevada City Classic was a famous one-day bicycle race. It took place in Nevada City, California. People also knew it as the Tour of Nevada City or the Father's Day Bicycle Classic.

This exciting race started in 1960. It was usually held on Father's Day in June. Thousands of people would visit Nevada County to watch it. The first race had about 1,500 viewers. In later years, up to 15,000 people came to see the cyclists! The Nevada City Chamber of commerce helped organize the event. There were races for women, juniors (younger riders), and masters (older riders). The main event was for men. Famous cyclists like Greg LeMond have won this race.

The Race Course

The Nevada City Classic was a challenging race. It lasted for 90 minutes. Riders completed 40 laps on a special circuit. Each lap was about 1.1 miles (1.8 kilometers) long. The course had many twists and hills. Riders climbed over 300 feet (91 meters) in total. Experts said it was one of the toughest one-mile bike races in the United States. The course stayed mostly the same since the race began.

Race History

The Nevada City Classic was a very old and important race. It started in 1960. It was the biggest and oldest bike race on the West Coast. It was also the second-oldest bike race in the entire country.

A man named Charlie Allert started the race. He was from Dresden, Germany. Charlie was a bicycle racer himself. He designed the race course. The very first race happened on Father's Day in 1961.

Many great cyclists won the Nevada City Classic over the years.

• Bob Tetzlaff, a school teacher, won in 1961 and 1962.
• Bob Parsons won five years in a row, starting in 1963 when he was 18.
• John Howard won in 1970.
• Greg LeMond won three times from 1979 to 1981. The city even had a "Greg LeMond Day" to honor him!
• Other winners included Todd Gogulski, Scott Moninger, Alexi Grewal, and Levi Leipheimer.
• In 2009, Lance Armstrong raced and won. However, his win was later removed due to rule violations.
• Ian Boswell won in 2010 and 2011.

In 1997, the race became a National Classic Pro Points Race. This meant it was a very important event for professional cyclists. In 2010, the Nevada City Classic course was even used for the start of Stage 1 of the Tour of California.

Sadly, the race was canceled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It never started again after that. This was partly because fewer people were attending in the years before 2020.

Past Winners

Men's Race Winners

Year	Winner	Second	Third
1961	Bob Tetzlaff
1962	Bob Tetzlaff
1963	Bob Parsons	Dave Capron	Ian Mahon
1964	Bob Parsons	Tim Kelly	Sharp
1965	Bob Parsons	David Brink	Ward Thompson
1966	Bob Parsons
1967	Bob Parsons	David Brink	Dan Butler
1968	David Brink	John Allis	Dan Butler
1969	Bill Wild
1970	John Howard
1971	Fred Fisk	Geoffrey Conley	Richard Baronna
1972	Dave Walters	Don Davis	Harry Morton
1973	Keith Vierra	Gary Fisher	Steve Lundgren
1974	Ed Parrot	Bill Wild
1975	Bill Wild	Don Davis
1976	Mark Pringle	Larry Malone	Tim Kelly
1977	Rick Baldwin	Bob Cook	Larry Shields
1978	Bob Cook	Kent Bostick	Ron Miller
1979	Greg LeMond	William Watkins
1980	Greg LeMond	Toby Power	Keith Vierra
1981	Greg LeMond	Greg Demgen	Wayne Stetina
1982	Toby Power	Jeff Pierce	Glenn Sanders
1983	Dale Stetina
1984	Greg Demgen
1985	Jeff Pierce
1986	Todd Gogulski
1987	Gervais Rioux
1988	Todd Gogulski
1989	Mark Caldwell
1990	Nate Reiss	Scott Moninger	Bart Bowen
1991	Chris Huber
1992	Michael Engleman	Scott Moninger	Wayne Morgan
1993	Alexi Grewal
1994	Scott Moninger	Michael Engleman	Bobby Julich
1995	Michael Engleman	Tyler Hamilton	Nate Reiss
1996	Chad Gerlach	Thurlow Rogers	Scott Moninger
1997	Scott Moninger	Chris Horner	Chad Gerlach
1998	Michael Engleman	Levi Leipheimer	David Clinger
1999	Scott Moninger	David Clinger	Chad Gerlach
2000	John Peters	Trent Klasna	Frank McCormack
2001	Ernesto Lechuga
2002	Antonio Cruz
2003	Eric Wohlberg	James Mattis	Justin England
2004	Justin England	Antonio Cruz	Philip Zajicek
2005	Burke Swindlehurst	Andrew Bajadali	Alex Candelario
2006	Scott Moninger	Gordon McCauley	Antonio Cruz
2007	Darren Lill	Scott Moninger	Antonio Cruz
2008	Justin England	Scott Nydam	Graham Howard
2009	Lance Armstrong	Ben Jacques-Maynes	Levi Leipheimer
2010	Ian Boswell	Paul Mach	Zachary Davies
2011	Ian Boswell	Evan Huffman	Nathaniel English
2012	Stephen Leece	Nathaniel English	Chuck Hutcheson
2013	Stephen Leece	Roman Kilun	Jon Hornbeck
2014	Walton Brush	Torey Philipp	Chris Harland-Dunaway
2015	Nathaniel English	Max Jenkins	Colin Daw
2016	Jason Saltzman	Cameron Bronstein	Chris Riekert
2017	Chris Riekert	Cameron Bronstein	Torey Philipp
2018	Chris Riekert	Aria Kiani	Robert Skinner
2019	Gavin Murray	William Myers	Ford Murphy
2020	Canceled

Women's Race Winners

Year	Winner	Second	Third
1978	Heidi Hopkins
1979	Heidi Hopkins
1980	Cindy Olivarri
1981	Cindy Olivarri
1982	Canceled
1983	Charlene Nicholson
1984	Cindy Olivarri
1985	Inga Thompson
1986	Rebecca Twigg
1987	Chris Paragary
1988	Katrin Tobin
1989	Inga Thompson
1990	Katrin Tobin
1991	Sally Zack
1992	Suzie Forsyth	Michelle Blain	Jacquie Phelan
1993	Shari Kain	Jacquie Phelan	Julie Young
1994	Shari Kain	Linda Jackson	Susy Pryde
1995	Stace Cooper	Ellen Krimmel	Belinda Heerwagen
1996	Laura Mullen
1997	Julie Hudetz	Cynthia Mommsen	Helena Drumm
1998	Joan Wilson
1999	Karen Kurreck	Julie Hanson	Caren Spore
2000	Belem Guerrero	Julie Young	Susy Pryde
2001	Cynthia Mommsen
2002	?
2003	Eryn Hanna	Jane Despas	Cynthia Mommsen
2004	Cindy Carroll
2005	Barbara Howe	Cynthia Mommsen	Taitt Sato
2006	Helene Drumm	Kimberly Anderson	Amber Rais
2007	Shelley Olds
2008	Sarah Bamberger	Betina Hold	Ally Stacher
2009	Shelley Olds	Brooke Miller	Kateřina Nash
2010	Kateřina Nash	Megan Guarnier	Kendall Ryan
2011	Kateřina Nash	Emily Kachorek	Susannah Breen
2012	Kateřina Nash	Flávia Oliveira	Amy Thornquist
2013	Elle Anderson	Joanna Bechtel	Cristina Hughes
2014	Katie Hall	Kathryn Donovan	Alison Starnes
2015	Shelley Evans	Chloé Dygert	Liza Rachetto
2016	Diane Moug	Sara Enders	Amy Cameron
2017	Amy Cameron	Megan Ruble	Melanie Wong
2018	Lisa Cordova	Amity Gregg	Ellie Velez
2019	Ellie Velez	Jennifer Tafoya	Megan Brinkmeyer
2020	Canceled