Tour of Somerville returns for 78th running with 'reinvigorated interest'

With a new race, new nods to the first winners, bigger forecasted crowds and a bigger area for family fun, the 78^th Tour of Somerville presented by Unity Bank is back with a bang on Memorial Day.

“This race has touched almost every life in Somerville,” said Gabe Lloyd, co-event producer of the country's premier and oldest bicycle race. “Because of that, it’s become an institution. Everyone knows the bike race is coming to town and there are a lot of enthusiastic people who make sure it continues to happen.”

The Family Fun Ride will kick off the day at 8 a.m. Monday. Registration can be made on the borough's website.

The nine competitive amateur races start at 8:50 a.m. for registered riders of different age and skill levels. An amateur women’s race was added this year, helping to make the women’s race size the largest in a decade and overall registration numbers 30% higher than last year’s.

“The reinvigorated interest is super exciting to see and it’s a great problem to have,” said Lloyd. “We actually just had to order more race numbers.”

Admission to the races and parking is free. Parking information can be found at tourofsomerville.com/schedule.

The first professional race, the women’s 25-mile contest, starts at 2:15 p.m. with a purse of $10,000.

The professional men's 50-mile race, 43 laps around the 1.1-mile course, with a $10,000 purse, starts at 3:45 p.m.

Pro and elite cyclists from as far away as Ireland, Mexico and Australia have entered the two featured races.

Although the winners of the 2022 race will not be returning, 2019 winner Connor Sallee of Connecticut and 2017 winner Noah Granigan of Colorado will compete again this year. Sallee holds the record for the fastest time in 1 hour and 38 minutes. Granigan is the grandson of Joe Saling, who is the honorary starter of the professional men’s race.

The races won’t be the only events on the Tour of Somerville schedule. The tour will take further steps to acknowledge Memorial Day this year, said Lloyd. An Immaculata High School trumpet player will play a rendition of Taps, a bugle call sounded to signal "lights out" at the end of a military day, and “Amazing Grace” and the National Anthem will be sung prior to the start of the men’s professional race.

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Race spots No. 1 and No. 4 will be left blank in the men’s professional race in honor of Furman Kugler, son of Tour founder Fred Kugler, the winner of the first Tour of Somerville in 1940 and second in 1941, and Carl Anderson, a friend of the Kuglers who won the Tour in 1942.

The Memorial Day race date took a tragic turn as Kugler and Anderson were killed during World War II while serving with the Armed Forces overseas.

While the bike races are ongoing from 1-5 p.m., vendors, bounce houses, kids activities and hot dog- and chicken wing-eating contests will be along West Main Street between North Bridge Street and Grove Street. Nine hundred people are expected to attend the tour, which is 200 more than originally forecasted.

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“The community outpouring of support makes this event really special,” said Lloyd, who is the co-founder and creative director of Long Tail Creative, which is executing and managing the Tour of Somerville for the second time this year.

“Restaurants have tabletops and grills on the sidewalk and they’re ready and willing to welcome people to Somerville,” continued Lloyd. “There are also a dozen barbecue parties happening, and that positivity radiates to the participants. They want to come back to Somerville because of that experience.”

Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com

Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.