Cyclists celebrating long weekend in Pelham
Upwards of 400 cyclists expected to race in Steve Bauer Classic on May 20
The Steve Bauer Classic will roll into Pelham on Saturday, May 20, bringing with it some of the top cyclists from Ontario.
The race is number four of seven in the Ontario Cup circuit, meaning anyone with a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) licence can enter. Registration ranges from $40 for minors, to $75 for adults and are still open for the time being.
Admission to watch the race, however, is free. Josee Larocque, event manager for Cycle Sport Management, said residents of Pelham who are familiar with the course often pull out their chairs and spend the day supporting the cyclists from their front lawn.
“For the locals who want to come and watch the race,” Larocque said. “We will have a food cart and a coffee cart at (Effingham and Tice) if they want to order anything.
“There’s a ‘feed zone’ and people can stand there and watch the racers. It’s a really cool atmosphere.”
Larocque works closely with Bauer at Steve Bauer Bike Tours Inc. She’s also responsible for planning the course for the Steve Bauer Classic among other things. She will be on the committee that decides the course for the Canada Games in 2021.
The race in Pelham on the Victoria Day weekend, she said, is a warm-up for the big one coming in just four years.
“Steve and I have worked with the sports commission in Niagara to figure out the different cycling courses,” Larocque said. “We designed three courses before. So far, it’s just a first version but it went through the Canada summer games and we won the bid, so it’s great.”
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The Steve Bauer Classic, formerly known as the Niagara Classic Road Race, was renamed last year to honour the cyclist and his accomplishments in the racing world.
He was the first Canadian to capture a medal at the Olympics in cycling. The St. Catharines native won countless races at the pro level, including a stage at the Tour de France.
Bauer remains one of the most decorated cyclists in Canada. He humbly accepted that the race be renamed in his honour last year, which is just a small token of recognition in the eyes of St. Catharines Cycling Club president Wally Tykoliz.
“This road race has been going on forever,” Tykoliz said. “One of the new ideas that popped forward was to honour Steve Bauer, to revamp the race and make it bigger and better.
“Cycling in Europe is like hockey in Canada, and Steve Bauer is a superstar.”
Tykoliz said about 400 cyclists participate in the race each year, with proceeds going toward organizing next year’s Bauer Classic.
“(Larocque) and (Bauer) promote cycling — not because of the financial rewards — but for the love of cycling,” Tykoliz said. “It is because of them that they reinvigorated cycling in Ontario and in particular Niagara. I call it a renaissance and it’s because of (Larocque) and (Bauer), period.”
The Bauer Classic will close several streets on the day of the race. Organizers warn drivers to look out if they happen to be driving on one of the closed streets and respectfully drive in the same direction as cyclists to avoid accidents.
The race will go from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will use the corner of Effingham Street and Tice Road as the start-finish line.