Tucson's Tyler Stites cruises to victory at El Tour with Olympian Chloé Dygert

Saturday was all about breaking records at the 41st El Tour de Tucson, where both the top men’s and women’s riders shattered the previous race records.

Tucson’s Tyler Stites cruised through the 102-mile Century course with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 30 minutes and 33 seconds.

When he crossed the finish line, there wasn’t a single rider in sight.

“I can’t remember a time when a racer soloed through the finish line,” the announcer’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker, noting that Stites had smashed the course record by nearly 10 minutes. “… He’s leaving everyone behind!”

This was Stites’ first race since being hit by a car while riding his bicycle in August. His training was put on hiatus for three weeks, but he was in fine shape for Saturday’s race.

Stites said he rode alongside second and third place winners Cormac McGeough and Garin Kelley for the majority of the race, but took off on his own with about 9 miles until the finish line. The trio finished within four minutes of each other. McGeough, of Ireland, finished at 3 hours, 32 minutes and 31 seconds and Kelley, of Texas, at 3 hours, 34 minutes and 15 seconds, unofficially.

Last year, Stites came in third in the Century ride by a matter of seconds. This year, he beat his 2023 race time by 11 minutes.

Colorado Springs rider and 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist Chloé Dygert was the first woman to cross the finish line in the 102-mile race with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 43 minutes and 43 seconds, beating the previous race record by seven minutes.

Trailing close behind was 2023 El Tour de Tucson Century ride winner Marjorie Rinaldo, of Tucson, with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 45 minutes and 52 seconds. Holly Breck took third with an unofficial time of 3 hours, 52 minutes and 46 seconds.

Stites, who lives and trains on Mount Lemmon, made it look easy as he passed the finish line alone. He tossed his hands up with a smile, and was hardly out of breath when bombarded by reporters.

Racing since the age of 12, Stites has been around the world with his bike. He’s graced podium stages at major races, but El Tour de Tucson feels like home, he said.

“This race is special because there are not as many big teams controlling this race,” he said.

His plan going in was to collaborate with McGeough and Kelley to go as fast as possible and have “nice company” along the way. Until that last 10 miles or so, Stites said, at that point, it’s every man for himself.

Breaking another El Tour de Tucson record was Olympian Dygert, 27. This was her first year riding in the race, although she spends a lot of time training in Tucson, she said.

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While she came to have fun and “not for the title,” Dygert ended up with both things.

Not only did Dygert win her race on the very first try, she got to ride alongside friends in an “amazing atmosphere.”

“Racing with the men makes you tougher,” she said. “It makes you ride harder…

“To be here with everyone who loves cycling is just huge,” she said.

Finding some shade, first-time rider Maddie McCoy sat anxiously waiting for her race to start. She decided to start her racing adventure with the 32-mile Metric Half-Century ride and spread her wings with more than 10,000 other bicyclists from 13 countries who were gearing up to race Saturday morning.

“I guess I always thought these events weren’t for me,” McCoy said. But when she moved to Arizona from Idaho and picked up a bike, McCoy began riding 20-30 miles several times a week and felt ready to take on El Tour.

“I haven’t been athletic, ever. Not that I am now, but I figured I’d try. I’m not going in to win. My goal is to finish,” she said.

And like McCoy, there were all sorts of different people of different abilities and ages and experience.

The group was eclectic, as one could deduce from the hot pink tutus to the neon green tandem bike, to the little girl waving a cowbell from the branch of a tree she had climbed.

But, McCoy? She was in her zone, getting psyched up for her 32-mile adventure.

“If you don’t do hard things, you don’t grow,” she said. “I probably want to run a marathon, too. But just one.”

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Photos: 2024 El Tour de Tucson bicycle race in Tucson