A sold-out crowd of 1,500 riders participated last Saturday at Ride Santa Barbara 100 at Leadbetter Beach.
Ride Santa Barbara 100 has launched pre-registration for its 2022 cycling event with a limited $99 entry fee. The pre-sale is available through Sunday at ridesb100.com.
The bicyclists, who rode their choice of a 100 Mile, 100k Plus Gibraltar, 100k Coastal, or 34 Mile route, enjoyed perfect sunny weather and a beachside post-event party featuring Gerard’s Paella and Alesmith Brewing Company Beer.
“What a return!” event director Jamie Monroe said in a news release. “We could tell that people really missed this event, and it felt great to be back at Leadbetter Beach for our biggest and best Ride Santa Barbara 100 yet! I’d like to thank all our sponsors and volunteers for making this such an amazing day for the riders. This was our first year to sell out the event, so we’ve launched pre-registration to make sure riders who really want to ride with us in 2022 have a jump on signing up.”
Cyclists on the 100 Mile and 100k Plus Gibraltar Routes competed on a timed segment of the ride: Gibraltar Road, a grueling climb that averages a 7.5% gradient for 7 miles. During an afternoon podium ceremony, event emcee Jim Miller crowned overall and age group category winners, according to the news release.
With respective times of 36:25 and 41:40, Robert Lozoya and Drea Strand, both of Santa Barbara, won the 100-mile category. Lozoya beat two-time Olympian Tinker Juarez, the second-place overall climber and winner of his age group, by two seconds. Another Santa Barbara resident, Sarah Terry, earned top step in the 100k Plus Gibraltar category with a time of 45:13, and the 100K men’s winner was George Tomasich of Norwalk with a time of 37:00.
Each Gibraltar Challenge overall winner received commemorative polka-dot jerseys from Squadra, medals and free entry to 2022’s Ride Santa Barbara 100. A complete list of first, second, and third place Gibraltar Challenge age group winners is viewable on the event website.
This year’s event supported numerous local nonprofits including the recently merged Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and Coalition for Sustainable Transportation (SBBIKE + COAST), Project Hero, and Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. During the podium presentations, Kolton Freck of Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles presented a check to Kyle Marme of Harding University Partnership School. Through its sponsorship of the E-Bike Category of Ride Santa Barbara 100, Yamaha is activating the first All Kids Bike PE program in Santa Barbara County.
For more about Ride Santa Barbara 100, go to www.ridesb100.com, Facebook.com/ridesb100, Twitter.com/RideSB100, and Instagram.com/RideSB100.
email: dmason@newspress.com
