CANCELLED!
Thank you for your interest in the event. The 2016 event has been cancelled due to lack of interest by the cycling community. Thank you to those riders and sponsors who supported the event.
The Rapid City Gran Fondo & Crit will start on Saturday morning on July 23, 2016 at 7:00am in Founders Park. The Gran Fondo is a 50 mile cycling event through the most gorgeous scenery in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Riders will experience a little of everything from rolling hills, short climbs and flat sections. For those who are a little competitive, riders finishing by the course cut off will receive an official chip time. The top three men and women will receive an award.
The event will be supported with aid stations along the course, a dedicated sag vehicle, mobile bike support and a marked course. The course will take place on open roads, however, so all traffic laws must be followed and cyclists should share the road with other motorists and stay to the right at all times and allow traffic to pass when necessary.
Following the Gran Fondo, riders and families will gather at Founders Park for some good eats, good music and good stories from the day. But your day is not over yet!
Crit Info
In
the evening a cycling crit will take place on closed streets of
downtown Rapid City. Entry fees include both an entry to the Gran Fondo
and the crit. The crit is the perfect ending to a great day of riding.
The races will be separated into categories of various abilities and
bikes such as beginner, kids, cruiser bike, fixie, pro and competitive.
See the full schedule for distances and categories.
We
know some of you will have just riden 50 miles but come back out for the
crit on Saturday night. It is meant to be a fun way to finish off the
day. There are categories for those who want to be a little competitive
and categories for those who want to have a little fun. Costumes are
encouraged! A prize will be awarded to the best costume and best
decorated bike.
50 Mile Turn-by-turn Directions
1. Start at Founder Parks
2. Heading West on Omaha
3. Take slight left onto Chicago St.
4. Continue by making a slight right to Canyon Rd.
5. Turns into Nemo Road
6. Turn Left (South) onto Norris Peak Road (CAUTION WHILE TURNING, ON COMING TRAFFIC)
7. Turn Right (West) onto Highway 44
8. Turn Left (South) onto Highway 385
9. Aid Station located at Pactola Reservoir
10. Turn Left (East) onto Sheridan Lake Road
11. At Sioux Park – turn Right to finish ride upon multi-use path
12. Path rides under Canyon Lake Dr., Main St. and Omaha St.
13. Finish the ride within Founders Park
Crit Turn-by-turn Directions
1. Start on Joseph Street between 6th and 7th Streets
2. Heading West on St. Joseph Street
3. Turn Left (South) on 7th Street
4. Turn Left (East) on Kansas City Street
5. Turn Right (South) on 6th Street
6. Turn Left (East) on Quincy Street
7. Turn Left (North) on 5th Street
8. Turn Left (West) on Kansas City Street
9. Turn Right (North) on 6th Street
10. Turn Left (West) on St. Joseph Street
Schedule
July 22, 2016
6:00pm - 8:00pm Check-in / Packet Pick-up
Location:
Lost Cabin Beer Co.
1401 W. Omaha Street, Suite 3
Rapid City, SD
July 23, 2016
5:30am - 6:30am Packet Pickup
7:00am Gran Fondo Start @ Founders Park
9:30am Lunch and festivities start
12:30pm Course Closed
2:00pm Venue Closed
4:00 - 5:00pm Packet Pickup
5:00pm Crit Start
5:00pm Beginner Men/Women - 7 Laps
5:30pm Kids - 1 lap
5:45pm Cruiser Bike - 3 Laps
6:02pm Pro Men - 15 Laps
6:45pm Fixie Bikes - 3 Laps
7:00pm Pro Women - 15 Laps
7:47pm Competitive Men - 10 Laps
8:22pm Competitive Women - 10 Laps
9:00pm Crit Ends
9:30pm Awards Ceremony @ Independent Ale House
Event Info
RACE CATEGORIES
Gran Fondo
Male Open
Female Open
Crit
Pro Men - 15 Laps
Pro Women - 15 Laps
Kids Open (8 and under) - 1 Lap
Cruiser Bike Open - 3 Laps
Fixie Open - 3 Laps
Competitive Men - 10 Laps
Competitive Women - 10 Laps
Beginner Men - 7 Laps
Beginner Women - 7 Laps
We know some of you will have just riden 50 miles
but come back out for the crit on Saturday night. Entry into the crit
is included with your Gran Fondo entry. It is meant to be a fun way to
finish off the day. There are categories for those who want to be a
little competitive and categories for those who want to have a little
fun. Costumes are encouraged! A prize will be awarded to the best
costume and best decorated bike.
ENTRY FEES
Gran Fondo
(Those registering for the Gran Fondo earn an automatic entry into the Crit)
February 1 - April 30 - $70
May 1 - June 30 - $75
July 1 - July 23 - $80
Crit Only
February 1 - July 16 - $20
July 17 - July 22 - $30
July 23 - $35
Kids Zone at Founders Park - FREE
Kids Crit - FREE
GRAN FONDO ENTRY FEE INCLUDES
T-shirt or hat (Hat is additional $5)
Chip Timing
On-course tech support
Trailing sag vehicle
On-course aid stations
Post race entertainment and refreshments
Raffles and give-aways
CRIT ENTRY FEE INCLUDES
T-shirt
Chip Timing
Pre race tech support
Post race refreshments
Raffles and give-aways
PACKET PICK-UP INFO
Gran Fondo & Crit
Friday, July 22, 2016 - 6:00pm 8:00pm
Lost Cabin Beer Co.
1401 W. Omaha Street, Suite 3
Rapid City, SD
Gran Fondo
Saturday, July 23, 2016 - 5:30am - 6:30am
Founders Park - 1510 W Omaha St, Rapid City, SD 57701
Crit
Saturday, July 23, 2016 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Start/Finish Line on St. Joseph Street between 6th & 7th Streets
EVENT DISTANCES
Gran Fondo - 50 Miles
Crit - .67 mile course
EVENT START/FINISH
Gran Fondo event will start and finish at Founders Park in Rapid City, SD
Crit will take place on closed streets of downtown Rapid City starting and finishing on Joseph Street between 6th and 7th streets
TIME LIMITS
Gran Fondo course finish line closes at 12:30pm
The Gran Fondo venue will close at 2pm
AWARDS & RESULTS
Even though the Gran Fondo is a fun ride we think it’s fun to still see your times so chip timing will be used and all riders crossing the finish line by 12:30pm will receive an official race time. An award will be given out to the top 3 male and female riders at the finish in Founders Park. Again, this is more of a fun ride but we want to give those riders who make it back first a little something just because we can. There will be plenty of awesome give-aways that everyone else has a chance to win.
The crit happening later in the day will award the winner in each category. Awards will happen following the event at the Independent Ale House. All kids participating will receive a finishers gift and will be given out immediately following their event. We know how anxious the kiddos can get so we won’t keep them waiting long.
WHAT SUPPORT IS OFFERED?
Black Hills Bicycles will be wrenching on-site at Founders Park before the ride starts to ensure any last minute bike issues are taken care of so you can enjoy your day of riding. They will also be roaming the course as a mobile tech support in case anything happens out on course.
AID STATIONS
There will be three aid
stations on the Gran Fondo course. The first aid station is located at
aproximately mile 15.5. It will contain water and sport drink. About a
mile after the first aid station is a gas station for any bathroom
emergencies. The second aid station is located at mile 23 on top of the
Pactola Reservoir. You can’t beat the view! It will contain light
snacks, water, sport drink and bathrooms. The third aid station is
located at approximately mile 40. It will contain water, sport drink and
a bathroom.
BAG DROP
If you would like to have
something specific at the half way point at Pactola Reservoir we will
transport your bags on race morning. Drop a labeled bag at the packet
pickup tent before 6:30am on race morning and your bag will be waiting
for you at the Pactola Reservoir aid station.
The Gran Fondo course will be
marked with event specific signage pointing you in the correct
direction. It is recommended that you also review the course ahead of
time and are aware of the turns you need to make in case those signs go
missing.
For those riders unable to
finish, there will be a sag vehicle following the final rider of the
event. If anyone is needing to be picked up they will need to wait until
that sag vehicle reaches them.
PHOTOGRAPHER
TBD - We are still searching for an event photographer.
REFUND POLICY
Click here for cancellation policy.
SAFETY
The Rapid City Gran Fondo 50 mile course is open to traffic. Riders must follow all traffic laws and stay right at all times on the course. Please share the road with motorists. Ride single file on all narrow sections of the road. Some sections of the course do not have a shoulder so please use caution when passing other riders. Allow traffic to pass when available.
There is a sharp downhill section right after the first aid station at mile 15. Please use extreme caution and control your speed down this section so you are riding within your ability and staying in your lane of the road.
RULES
We don’t like the using the R word but there are some things we just have to communicate so we need to call it something.
-
This is not a race. We are encouraging you to challenge yourself but please ride within your limits and remember the road-ways will remain open to motorists. Your safety is your responsibility.
-
Helmets are mandatory. Cyclists must have a helmet on at ALL times.
-
Obey all traffic laws. Riders will have a police escort with rolling road closures as you make your way out of town but after that you are on open roads. Any cyclist who is deemed to be riding unsafely, discourteously or recklessly will be pulled from the event and possibly ticketed by local law enforcement.
-
No iPods, or personal music devices are to be worn at any point of the event.
-
No personal support vehicles are allowed on course. Support is allowed at the start and finish of the event. This will keep less traffic on the roads. No water bottle hand-offs at the aid stations. Riders must stop and get water on their own.
-
Display your race numbers and wrist band and all times. This will grant you access to the aid stations, finish line food and ensure you receive your finish time.
-
All riders must be registered with the event. This is a safety issue not a money issue. This will ensure we know who is out on course and who we should be looking out for. Unregistered riders will not have access to the aid stations.
-
Ride safe and have fun!
