'We've gone through a lot': Tour of Somerville returns as traditional kickoff to summer
SOMERVILLE – A bit of normalcy will return to the county seat this holiday weekend.
The 77th Tour of Somerville, the country's premier and oldest bicycle race, will return on Memorial Day after two years of cancellations because of the pandemic and flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The race, known as the Kentucky Derby of Bicycle Racing, was cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic. In 2021, the continuing pandemic caused it again to be cancelled on Memorial Day, with organizers scheduling it for Labor Day.
But, because the borough was ravaged by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 1, the race was again cancelled as Somerville and Central Jersey continued to recover from the disaster.
"We've gone through a lot the last couple of years," Mayor Dennis Sullivan said. "We deserve to have fun."
The return of the race will be a boost to Somerville's spirit, the mayor said.
"People just want to have a normal summer," Sullivan said. "It's going to be OK."
The mayor said he was planning on pedaling in the Family Fun Ride which kicks off the day at 8:45 a.m. Monday on West Main Street in front of Wolfgang's Steakhouse. Registration can be made through the borough's website.
The eight competitive amateur races start at 9:30 a.m. for registered riders of different age and skill levels.
The first professional race, the women’s 25-mile contest, starts at 2 p.m. with a purse of $10,000.
The professional men's 50-mile race, 43 laps around the 1.1-mile course, with a $10,000 purse, is expected to begin at 3:15 p.m.
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Pro and elite cyclists from as far away as New Zealand have entered the two featured races.
Organizers are expecting the winners of the 2019 races to return to defend their titles.
Connor Sallee of Connecticut won the 2019 Tour of Somerville in 1 hour 38 minutes. The winner of the women's race was Maggie Coles-Lyster of Canada.
Admission to the races is free.
The day’s races are promoted by Arts on Division and sponsored by Unity Bank, as well as Atlantic Health, Flemington Car and Truck Country, Somerset County, the Borough of Somerville and the Downtown Somerville Alliance.
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The races are not the only events in Somerville on the three-day weekend.
The Classic Cruisers are returning to Main Street on Friday evenings through Labor Day.
Somerville Stage on the Division Street plaza will return 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday with a performance by Maura Glynn and Friends. And during the races on Monday, there will be music on Division Street.
The borough will conduct its annual Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday at the New Cemetery on South Bridge Street.
The following streets will be closed on Memorial Day where parked cars will be towed: West Main Street, between North Bridge Street and Mountain Avenue; Mountain Avenue, between West Main Street and West High Street; West High Street, between Mountain Avenue and North Bridge Street; and North Bridge Street, between West High Street and West Main Street.
Residents and visitors should not to park within the interior of the race route because they will not be able to exit during the race.
The Bernie Field Parking Deck, 68 E. High St., will be available for free parking only on Memorial Day. All cars must exit by 6 p.m. on Monday.
Free parking is permitted from Sunday until 6 a.m. Tuesday in Lot 7 on East High Street and the borough-owned parking deck on Veterans Memorial Drive between Warren Street and Hamilton Street.
Professional cyclist and borough bike shop owner Fred “Pop” Kugler organized the inaugural 50-mile Tour of Somerville in 1940. His son, Furman, a past national cycling champion, won the first two races in 1940 and 1941.
Carl Anderson, a friend of the Kuglers, won the Tour in 1942. The Tour was suspended from 1943 to 1946 because of World War II.
The Memorial Day race date took a tragic turn as Kugler and Anderson were killed during World War II.
Resuming in 1947, the Senior Men's race of the Tour of Somerville was officially renamed the Kugler-Anderson Memorial in their honor.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Tour of Somerville returns on Memorial Day in 2022
