The Tour of Somerville is America's Longest Running Bike Race, established in 1940. The race has always been held with the start/finish line on South Main Street in Downtown, Somerville, New Jersey. The finish line has changed over the years, as have the placement of the turns, but this has always been a flat, 4-corner criterium. Since 2015, Somerville has undergone a vast revitalization campaign via the Downtown Somerville Alliance that has seen numerous amazing restaurants open, multiple coffee shops, and plenty of businesses pop up around town. When planning your race day, plan on sticking around to enjoy a meal and drinks at these amazing places.

The cycling race is for USA Cycling-licensed riders. Cyclists must have a valid 2023 racing license with one-day licenses available at the time of registration at BikeReg.com. For more information on securing a racing license, go to USA Cycling.

Memorial Day Weekend Schedule

Friday, May 26th – LA Sweat x NEXTGEN Ride at 5:30pm. Meet at Easton Public Market. Women and WTF Q&A to follow. Sign up here.
‍Saturday, May 27 – Easton Twilight Criterium (PA State Criterium Championships), 1-Mile Dash for Cash
Sunday, May 28 – Tour of Plainfield (New Jersey State Criterium Championships), Plainfield, New Jersey
Monday, May 29 – Tour of Somerville, (America’s Longest Running Bike Race), Somerville, New Jersey

‍For additional racing info, contact us.

Tour of Somerville Schedule for Monday, May 29

• 8:00am Family Fun Ride. Register at https://register.communitypass.net/somerville
• 8:50am Women 3/4/Novice Race
• 9:20am Junior Girls 15-18, 9-14, Boys 9-14 (Staggered start)
• 9:50am Master's Men 55+
• 10:30am Men Category 4 (SOLD OUT)
• 11:05am Master's Men 40+
• 11:55am Junior Boys 15-18
• 12:55pm Men Category 2/3
• 2:15pm Milred Kugler Women's Pro/1/2/3
• Kugler-Anderson Memorial Men's Pro/1/2

Criterium Course Route

Distance: 1.1 miles
Avg Gradient: 0%
Number of Turns: 4 (4x Left)

119 South Main Street is the address closest to the start-finish line. The line is at the intersection of South Main and Union Street. Athlete Registration, Podium, and Payout are also located here.

Parking

Please refer to the map above. There is reserved parking for athletes at the middle school on Davenport and West High Street. This usually fills early, so refer to the map for additional lots. There is also street parking.

Grid Start

All riders must report to Athlete Staging on South Main Street and Davenport 30 minutes before their event starts. Grid Start rank is based on a rider’s USA Cycling Category, their rank within the category, and then the registration date as a tie-breaker. All day-of registrations, regardless of category or rank, are placed at the back of the grid.

For example, all Category 2s are placed ahead of Category 3s. The Category 2s are placed by rank based on data from BikeReg.com; then Category 3s are ranked behind them. All day-of registrations, regardless of category or rank, are placed at the back of the grid.

Start Lists

Start lists will be published by Sunday, May 28th. They can also be found at Athlete Staging.

Timing Chips

Timing Chips will be used to score riders in all races. If you currently own a Race Result timing chip, CRCA, Prospect Park, etc., please bring it with you and race with it. It will make the registration process much smoother, and you won’t have to return the chip after your race. We will have rental chips available at registration for those without a chip at no cost. However, these chips MUST be returned after your race, or you will be invoiced for the replacement cost of $100. Anyone who has not returned a chip will have to pay MainSport Timing for their chip at any race they are involved in before you can start that race.

Awards and Payout

Amateur Races compete for Medals, Jerseys, and Primes. Advertisement primes will be called by the announcer and the ringing of the bell at the start-finish line. The announcer, race officials, or event director reserves the ability to award the prime in 1) Single amount 2) split between multiple places 3) solely to the breakaway 4) solely to the field.

Professional Races compete for $10,000, Medals, Jerseys, and Primes. Advertisement primes will be called by the announcer and the ringing of the bell at the start-finish line. The announcer, race officials, or event director reserves the ability to award the prime in 1) Single amount 2) split between multiple places 3) solely to the breakaway 4) solely to the field.  

Crowd Primes are in addition to the Advertisement Primes described above. These will be any dollars or prizes brought to the Stage on race day. These awards are collected as a sum-total of their value to be distributed solely as "Crowd Primes." Any person or business who wishes to have a specific message read by the announcer should consider an Advertisement Prime before race day. Historically speaking, the Tour of Somerville raises a few thousand dollars, but this is not guaranteed by the event or event directors.

Rules

USA Cycling rules to govern.