That's a wrap from the Tour of the Gila

The country’s top pro road cyclists spent their week in Silver City for the 38th edition of Tour of the Gila, which wrapped up Sunday.

While some of those top cyclists will go on to national championships, the Olympics, WorldTour careers or gravel races, others will go back to their jobs and families—training while working, raising kids, or attending school. The pathway for American cyclists to the sport’s highest levels exists, but that doesn’t mean every cyclist takes it.

Being sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), Tour of the Gila can allow UCI teams, club teams, Domestic Elite Teams. The latter sit between a club and a UCI Continental team. They are a steppingstone to the professional level, according to USA Cycling, which formed DETs to “better organize the top level of cycling in the United States.” They function as bridges between amateur club racing and professional UCI Continental competition.

One Domestic Elite Team has attended Tour of the Gila since 1995. As part of the White Mountain Road Club, the Landis/Trek Men’s Domestic Elite Team develops amateur cyclists and provides opportunities to compete at a high level—the highest available in the U.S. being Tour of the Gila.

Landis/Trek has a squad of seven racing at Tour of the Gila this week. “Our focus for the domestic elite team is doing the UCI event,” says Team Director Brian Lemke.

He has competed at Tour of the Gila and now brings athletes to race in southwest New Mexico annually. “Our club has a very, very long history with Tour of the Gila.”

Highlights from that history include club member Drew Miller’s overall win at Tour of the Gila in 2003. And this year, the team’s Braeden Sellinger finished 19th overall and only fifth on the Best Young Rider classification for competitors under age 23.

The team loves stage racing, and Tour of the Gila is one of the few UCI races on the U.S. calendar. “It’s obviously the hardest stage race in the nation,” Lemke. “Being able to compete at that level is super gratifying.”

With talk of more UCI races being added to the U.S. calendar, the exciting future of American road racing builds on the longevity of domestic elite teams like Landis Cyclery/Trek Team and races like Tour of the Gila. “Tour of the Gila is such a staple of top professional or amateur road racing,” Lemke says. “Silver City should feel good about bringing a race of this caliber to New Mexico and Silver City.”

Men's

Overall leaders

1. Keiran Haug, Project Echelon Racing (11:00:34)
2. Eric Brunner, Competitive Edge Racing (+0.22)
3. José Muñiz Vasquez, Olinka – Specialized (+1:09)

• Team leader: Project Echelon Racing
• New Mexico True leader jersey: Keiran Haug, Project Echelon Racing
• Freeport McMoRan climber jersey: Robinson Fabian Lopez Rivera, GW Erco Shimano
• Gila Regional Medical Center sprinter jersey: Fausto Esparza Martinez, Olinka-Specialized
• Southwest Bone and Joint/Brian and Lynn Robinson Best Young Rider jersey: Jonas Walton, Project Echelon Racing

Women's

Overall leaders

1. Lauren Stephens, Aegis Cycling Mixed Team (11:48:51)
2. Sidney Swierenga, TaG Cycling (+2:23)
3. Emma Langley, Aegis Cycling Mixed Team (+2:54)

• Team leader: Aegis Cycling Mixed Team
• New Mexico True leader jersey, Freeport McMoRan climber jersey, Gila Regional Medical Center sprinter jersey: Lauren Stephens, Aegis Cycling Mixed Team
• Southwest Bone and Joint/Brian and Lynn Robinson Best Young Rider jersey: Sidney Swierenga, TaG Cycling