Cyclists from far and wide, raced through the streets today in Old Town Murrieta for the 8th Annual Tour de Murrieta. (Daniel Lane/SWRNN)
Cyclists from far and wide, raced through the streets today in Old Town Murrieta for the 8th Annual Tour de Murrieta.
Saturday marked the second day of the three-day cycling event.
At least a couple thousand riders participated in the race which saw sponsorship from Manyk Energy and other local businesses.
The event had an increase in ridership even with rain during Friday’s stage one of the race, according to race director Aaron Goodale.
“We were afraid that participation would go down, but it actually went up by about 30 riders,” Goodale said while cyclist zoomed by.
“It ended up just raining (Friday) on the pro-men and pro-women,” Goodale said.
Gallery courtesy of Daniel Lane:
During Saturday’s race, a rider collided with a course marshal, adding a bit of worry to the excitement of the day.
The marshal was rushed by ground ambulance to a local hospital with unknown injures.
The rider declined medical attention, according to Goodale.
Video courtesy of Daniel Lane:
“The person who was hit was rushed to the hospital because he was knocked unconscious,” Goodale said.
The courses remained downtown, with Saturday’s event providing a festival atmosphere that included an exposition area, free energy drinks, music, a jumpy house for the kids and much more.
Highlighting this year’s event is the Nature Valley Pro Chase Race Qualifier where race participants competed for the chance to race at the Nature Valley Grand Prix — a professional race held in Minnesota during the month of June.
Winners receive media appearances, host housing, coaching, team staff support and an opportunity to earn a professional cycling contract.
In 2012, Tour de Murrieta participants Connor McCutcheon and Trina Jacobson were selected.
“Our commitment is to continue promoting the sport of cycling (and) healthy lifestyles, while sparking the local economy by inviting thousands of people to visit the city of Murrieta and its awesome surroundings,” said Race Technical Director Ernie Sanchez in a released statement.
“There is no doubt that our race has gained national attention and contributed to the Amgen Tour of California coming to town in May 2013,” he said.
To learn more, visit www.capoolsracing.org/tdm/.
Daniel Lane is a local photojournalist and regular contributor to SWRNN.
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