Following the success of the 2010 Scotts Valley Grand Prix in May, the Scotts Valley City Council voted unanimously last week to give local cycling enthusiast Mark Davis of Syzygy Sports Group the green light put on the sequel in 2011.
The plan for next year’s race, tentatively titled “Scotts Valley Twilight Criterium” is to take the successes and lessons from the inaugural race and expand upon them, Davis said.
The course will follow a looping path around El Pueblo Road, Carbonero Way and a section of Scotts Valley Drive. Men, women and children will be invited to take to their wheels, all with individual races for differing skill sets and age brackets.
Davis, who led the planning of May’s races as a member of Modesto-based Third Pillar Racing, is now working with the planners of the annual Cat’s Hill Classic race in Los Gatos to have the races on consecutive days.
Davis has split from Third Pillar, which offered a competing proposal that was not selected by the city.
The plan is for the Los Gatos race to be Saturday, May 14, and the Scotts Valley event Sunday, May 15 — in hopes that the two cycling events will share participants.
The Los Gatos and Scotts Valley races will each name their respective winners, as well as overall winners with the best aggregate results over the two-day period.
Scotts Valley Mayor Dene Bustichi praised Davis for his efforts to solve problems that had arisen with the city’s first bike race.
“(Moving the event to a Sunday from Saturday) was a big positive move,” said Bustichi, who cited the complaints of proprietors of several local businesses along the race route who were upset with the loss of weekend business due to road closures.
Davis said that he plans a more interactive, festival-type race day — similar in scale to the Skypark Fourth of July celebration.
It will feature opportunities for local businesses to get involved, as well as promote an atmosphere that is both family-friendly and exciting, to make it more appealing to children.
“It’s the first sense of real freedom for a kid, having a bike,” Davis said.
“Cycling can’t grow without new racers,” Davis added. “I just wanted to make (the event) something family-oriented.”
The Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce is helping with the business end of the planning, such as booths, entertainment and sponsors.
“Last year, there were only a third of the booths that I would have like to be there,” Davis said. “With them running that part of it, I can focus on the cycling logistics.”
Davis’ dream, he said, is for the Scotts Valley race to become an annual race — and, eventually, part of a professional cycling tour.
He has submitted an application for the Scotts Valley race to become a qualifier race for the Nature Valley Pro Ride, a national stage race similar in style to the Tour of California.
He also submitted an application to join USA Crits, which is a series of professional races in which participants are marked by their cumulative placing in all participating events.
An annual bike race, Davis said, would bring to Scotts Valley — and the local economy — a regular influx of cycling enthusiasts.
“It’s not just about putting on a race,” Davis said. “It really becomes something great for the town.”
