Tucson's Marj Rinaldo, Scottsdale's Noah Anastassatos win El Tour de Tucson's 40th anniversary race

Noah Anastassatos and Marj Rinaldo won the men’s and women’s portions of the Banner-University Medicine 40th El Tour de Tucson, held Saturday morning in Tucson, Sahuarita and other communities.

Anastassatos, 26, of Scottsdale, finished the 102-mile route with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 41 minutes, 27.5 seconds. Tucson’s Sean Christian, who won the race in 2022, was one second behind Anastassatos.

His second El Tour, Anastassatos placed No. 49 in last year’s race with a gun time of 3:54:20.3, a near 13-minute difference.

Anastassatos, who is not part of a team, said that he “took off a little early” last year but decided on waiting back a little bit from the start, in an ultimately successful attempt to attack when roads were clearer.

A patient approach proved to make all the difference this Saturday.

“Last year I went two miles too early from the group and got like fiftieth place, I got caught with like half a mile to go last year so this year was like ‘okay just wait, wait,’” he said. “I wanted to go on 22nd Street but it was so chaotic I just waited until the roads opened up and luckily (they weren’t) fast enough to catch me I guess.”

This was Anastassatos’ first race since last year’s El Tour.

“I don’t really do much racing because of the risk factor,” he said. “But this is one of the safer ones honestly, so that’s why I came back. It’s safe and it’s fast.

“Obviously, all the training pays off. Family, friends who let you train, I realize it’s somewhat setting in and its crazy.”

His mother and girlfriend were in attendance Saturday, and both sprinted to him in jubilation after he passed the finish line.

“Oh, my gosh. Well, he said he wanted to win so we just had supported him the whole time with whatever he needed,” said his girlfriend, Melissa Trapp. “We actually tried to do a water hand off and he missed both our water bottles, so we were a little worried about how that’s going to go (but) it turned out okay.”

Rinaldo, 32, of Tucson, finished “The Century” race with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 50 minutes, 12 seconds. Salt Lake City’s Melisa Rollins came in second at 3:50:13, and Amanda Macuiba came in third with a time of 4:00:10.

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Rinaldo, who’s lived in Tucson for 3½ years, said Saturday that it was her second time competing in El Tour.

“(My performance) was pretty good, I’m feeling pretty strong... It was just nice being able to roll out of my house and come straight to the race,” she said. “I live here, and I love to support local racing. It’s a big deal (in Tucson) so I try to show up.”

Rinaldo, who placed ninth in last year’s race with a time of 4:03:47.8, knew the final sprint is what counts the most.

“Last year I didn’t really know what to expect. This year I knew coming into the last corner I need to be top-3 to-4 wheels because last year I wasn’t and missed the sprint,” Rinaldo said. Next up for her and her team she said, is an incredibly busy spring. “We’ll be all over the place.”

How will the winners of El Tour 40th be celebrating their achievements?

“We have our four-year anniversary dinner tonight... so we’re going to go have a good dinner,” Anastassatos said.

Added Rinaldo: “I’m going to have a pizza, go to bed early (and) sleep in tomorrow.”

Over 9,000 riders took part in the 40th anniversary of El Tour this year, about 1,500 more than the 2022 version. Of those roughly 9,000, 43% can proudly say this was their first time signing up for any one of the five races offered.

Riders competed in three distances and two “fun rides.” The 102-mile ride — organizers call it “The Century” — is the most popular of the routes. Then there are the 63-mile “Metric Century” ride as well as the 32-mile “Metric Half-Century” ride.

The two “Fun Rides” are some of the unique events during El Tour day. Many fun-riders are kids; they can choose between distances of 1 or 3 miles.

Photos: 2023 El Tour de Tucson bicycle race in Tucson