Sunday
’s weather with clear skies and a light breeze was near perfect
for cyclists and the upwards of 1,000 spectators who packed
downtown Morgan Hill for the Grand Prix bicycle event.
Sunday’s weather with clear skies and a light breeze was near perfect for cyclists and the upwards of 1,000 spectators who packed downtown Morgan Hill for the Grand Prix bicycle event.
Onlookers, mostly from the greater Bay Area and Morgan Hill, packed the area around Third Street and Monterey Road to watch riders from around the world compete at speeds approaching 40 mph.
“This is just absolutely beautiful,” said Race Director Tom Simpson of Pilarcitos Sports. “We love the exposure for Morgan Hill. We are getting people who normally just drive by on the freeway. We would love to be invited back here next year.”
The Specialized Morgan Hill Grand Prix featured nine events, including men’s and women’s professional races, amateur races and short races for children.
Racers in their brightly colored spandex uniforms sporting their different racing teams went whizzing through downtown at speeds well above the 25 mph limit.
The children’s 400-meter dash was by far slower, though the participants were no less motivated.
Dressed in bright pink, gray spandex or typical street clothes, several youths of Morgan Hill flew through downtown on all types of bikes, including one with training wheels.
Parents on the finish line cheered on their little ones regardless of how they finished.
“We never expected them to take it so seriously,” Simpson said. “But they made a race of it.”
At the start/finish line, three announcers kept onlookers apprised of each race’s progress and keeping onlookers entertained.
The Third Street hill proved to be a challenge for almost all the racers.
Cyclists said they underestimated the hill coming into the race, but quickly learned it would determine who won or lost.
“This was a good, exciting race” said Jackson Stewart from the Sierra Nevada team. “The hill made it a really hard race. We just expected a small hill, but when we saw it we said ‘change of plans.’”
Stewart’s teammate Hayden Godfrey from New Zealand said riding up the hill wasn’t that difficult.
“For me, it looked worse than it actually was,” Godfrey said. “There was a good crowd. I would love to come back here next year.”
A small group gathered at the top of the hill cheering on riders, urging them to continue and not quit.
Crowd sizes peaked from 11am to 1pm to watch the professional races.
“This is a neat, small town race,” said Morgan Hill resident Jennifer Miller. “This is good for our exposure.”
Jason Matt, who traveled from Sunnyvale to watch, said it was wonderful and he wished he could participate.
“This is an excellent course,” Matt said. “This is a great thing for the downtown businesses. If there had been a Category 5 (for beginning riders), I would be in it.”
Dan Ehrler, Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce executive director, said he thought the event was “terrific,” though he will meet with organizers and the downtown association to discuss how to improve logistics.
“There were a lot of things to do to improve what I would consider a good start,” Ehrler said. “I thought this was an absolutely terrific even more so than I experienced when we did this with the Sonoma Chamber of Commerce.”
Reactions from business in the area were mixed depending on how close they were to the start and finish line on Third Street and Monterey Road.
The crowd, for the most part, congregated near the finish line where they could see racers turn on to Monterey from West Main, continue to Fourth Street and re-emerge on Fifth Street before ascending the hill leading to Del Monte.
Dan Craig, executive director of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, said businesses further from the crowd saw fewer people than those near the “hub.”
“The further from the hub, the less business you saw,” Craig added. “Sinaloa saw a spike, but it was not huge. The tobacco shop and the businesses further down saw regular Sunday business.”
The House of Bagels, which found itself the closest to the action, saw business climb as the day progressed.
Rich Bergin, from Rosy’s at the Beach, said business was typical for a Sunday, but expects the Grand Prix will really take off if it’s held in Morgan Hill again.
“Two to three years down the road, this should become really big,” Bergin said. “This has been really exciting.”
Brad Jones, co-owner of BookSmart, said business was down Sunday but said he would like to see the race return.
“It was a slow day for the bookstore, but it was better for the coffee shop,” Jones said. “But what’s good for the soul of downtown is not always good for business. I hope in the future this can turn into a regional event.”
Jones added the event was very well run and organizers were very accommodating to the downtown businesses. However, not everyone was happy to see the bike race take over downtown.
Seowon Kang from Simple Beverages and Cigars said business did not pick up like at the Taste of Morgan Hill, which also closes off downtown to normal traffic.
“They closed all the streets here, it’s not good for business,” Kang said. “I don’t get my normal customers The restaurants are doing well, but us, no.”
The Downtown Association’s Craig said early in the morning, residents along Del Monte Street to West Main Avenue had problems arriving or leaving their homes. He said the issues were worked out and residents were able to come and go with little inconvenience.
Race Director Simpson added while he hadn’t heard residents were having problems, he was committed to make the impact on people and businesses as little as possible.
The races started at 8am at Third and Monterey and followed a course going south on Monterey, east on Fourth, south on Depot, west on East Fifth Street, back up Monterey and up the West Third Street hill, down to Del Monte to West Main Avenue and back to Monterey to the Third Street finish line.
Except for the kids races, the course followed a 1.2-mile circuit with racers competing for prizes ranging from $200 to $2,500. Racers also won prizes for leading specific laps, including power bars and a case of beer.
