The blur of cyclists rushed through downtown Tucson late Saturday morning, and onlookers could hardly discern the leader of a pack.
Six cyclists, all competing under the banner of Monster Media Racing, glided through the finish line at the Tucson Medical Center El Tour de Tucson presented by Casino del Solβs 106-mile race.
Tucsonan Rob Alvarez took home first place, posting a time of 4 hours 3 minutes 0.28 seconds.
Alvarez received a hug from his mother as he caught his breath following the endurance race.
βWe had a super-strong team,β Alvarez said. βWe knew we had to stick together. Myself and (second-place finisher) David Salomon stayed close and we kept attacking.β
Alvarezβs team members let him pass in the final sprint to earn the top place finish.
The 41-year old has competed near the front of the pack in El Tour for the past 15 years but was winless heading into this yearβs event.
βThese guys are really generous and nice in letting me have it since Iβm a local guy,β Alvarez said. βThatβs just what teammates do.β
Betsabee Salomon, Davidβs sister, was the top finisher among women with a time of 4:10:18. The Salomon siblings are from Hermosillo and compete for the Mexican powerhouse P&S Group, who joined forces with Monster Media Racing this year.
Anna Sparks finished in 4:14:33, the second-best total among women for the second year in a row.
βI had good legs and I saved energy for the final 15 miles,β Betsabee Salomon said through her translator. βI decided to move up.β
Saturday marked Betsabee Salomonβs second time competing in El Tour. She finished sixth last year.
The day belonged to the Monster Media Racing/P&S Group team. The national cycling team took the top six places in the menβs side, the top spot in the womenβs race and also won the male-female tandem race.
The cycling team is based out of San Diego but spans across the country.
βItβs a clean sweep for us today,β said Chris Demarchi, a co-owner of MMR. βFor us, itβs all about giving back. Clean riders, having a good time. Nobody is making any money to do it.β
It was Alvarez, the menβs champion, who recruited members of the P&S Group to join MMR to form a power group for El Tour.
Alvarez traveled to Mexico to train with P&S Group members in the weeks leading up to Saturdayβs race.
βAlvarez was instrumental in bringing those guys over,β Demarchi said. βTheyβre on what we call βThe Hit Squad.β The team travels throughout the United States and competes in other races.β
Cyclists raced in ideal weather Saturday, facing little to no headwind to go with a balmy sky.
The optimal conditions surely contributed to the near-record time on the menβs side. The top pack crossed the finish line a remarkable seven minutes quicker than last yearβs leaders.
As a herd of MMR cyclists huddled together after the event, teammates embraced one another and congratulated Alvarez on a race well won.
βIβve been knowing about this race since I was 10 years old and Iβve always supported it so to finally pull it off, itβs a dream come true,β Alvarez said.
βIt definitely couldnβt have been done without a team and all the support around Tucson. It takes a village.β