The annual Clocktower Classic Handcycle race returns April 28 – May 1, 2016 to offer three days of racing. Twenty-seven competitors from across the country will participate in four separate races with routes in the city and county.
Planned race routes are as follows:
Thursday, April 28
The 36 mile Rocky Mountain Road Race will take place Thursday in beautiful Texas Valley. Staging from the Wildwood Cove entrance of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Area, the race route heads north on Big Texas Valley Road, turning right on Texas Valley Road, right turn on Sand Springs/Fouche Gap Road, and right turn back onto Big Texas Valley Road. There will be intermittent road closures with expected traffic delays beginning at 9:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Friday, April 29
The morning race is a 3 mile hill climb up Lavendar Mountain. Fouche Gap Road will close to traffic at 9:30 a.m. Handcyclists will park near Heath Lake at Rocky Mountain Recreation and ride Big Texas Valley Road to the start line at Fouche Gap Road. The race route will begin at the intersection of Big Texas Valley Road and Fouche Gap Road and continue up Lavendar Mountain, finishing at Lavendar Trail. The section of Fouche Gap Road that climbs Lavendar Mountain will be totally closed to vehicular traffic until approximately 11:30 a.m. Handcyclists will descend Lavendar Mountain and roads will reopen to traffic after handcyclists have cleared the road.
The Downtown Criterium will be held Friday evening at 6 p.m. Roads will close at 5:30 p.m. and include – Broad Street, northbound from Second Avenue to Fourth Avenue, Fourth Avenue to East First Street, East First Street between Fourth Avenue and Second Avenue and Second Avenue from East First Street to Broad Street. Rome City Police will redirect traffic to detour the area. Parking is not allowed on the race route from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Cars may be towed at the owners expense; as is necessary for the safety of the handcyclists. Cars parked within the race route to include parking lots behind Harvest Moon/Mellow Mushroom, Rome Transit Station and West Lofts will not be allowed to leave between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The start/finish line is at the intersection of Broad Street and Third Avenue. This Downtown Criterium is the most exciting race for spectators to watch where any spot along the route offers a great vantage point.
Sunday, May 1
The final stage of the race will take place Sunday morning on Technology Parkway. The road will close to traffic between Scott Logistics and Huffaker Road (including access to/from Technology at Mathis Road). The road will close at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to reopen at 11:00 a.m.
Clocktower Classic Handcycle athletes will also participate in the 26th annual Up the Creek without a Pedal Century Ride which will begin at The Forum in downtown Rome on Saturday, April 30.
Drivers are cautioned to watch for handcyclists during all scheduled races and to plan accordingly to avoid road and parking closures. Spectators are welcome to attend all events.
For race questions, contact Rome Sports Director, Ann Hortman at 706-295-5576, sports@romegeorgia.org.
About the Author
Our Georgia's Rome tourism team works hard to curate content to help you discover and explore our beautiful town! We want to ensure our content is up-to-date and accurate; so please let us know if we ever overlook an important detail! This post was originally written by Kristi Kent and is updated by staff.
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