27th Annual
Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo
Century, ULTRA, & Time Trial
(And Chief Ladiga Cruise Family Ride)
Saturday & Sunday
May 18 & 19, 2019
Jacksonville, Alabama
PRESENTED BY
SPONSORED BY
NEW FOR 2019
CHEAHA CHALLENGE TIME TRIAL
SATURDAY MAY 18, 2019
It's all about the TIME TRIAL!
For the first time, we are offering an individual Time Trial in conjunction with our Cheaha Challenge/ULTRA/Cruise weekend events. IT IS THE UCI TIME TRIAL WORLD SHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER! The Cheaha Challenge Time Trial will take place on Saturday, May 18, from Piedmont to Jacksonville, AL - all on the paved rails-to-trail, Chief Ladiga Trail.
Join us for the inaugural Cheaha Challenge Time Trial, held in conjunction with the weekend events of the 27th Annual Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century & ULTRA on Sunday, May 19. (Note: The century ride is the UCI Qualifier for the UCI Gran Fondo Worlds late summer/fall of 2019). Experience the thrill of exiting a time trial podium down a ramp onto a closed 12-mile straight shot course (only three turns, all near the finish), and test what you’re made of as you barrel along the flat, fast, fun path.
Note: Time Trial Registration is via online registration ONLY through Friday, May 17 at midnight. There is no day-of, walk-up registration. You will receive a free, one-day USA Cycling license, as required, unless you already have a license. And there will be USA Cycling officials on the course. But according to our USA Cycling representative, Stuart Lamp, "USA Cycling will not conduct UCI bike checks for the Cheaha Challenge Time Trial. If you qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships then please note that your bike will need to meet the UCI regulations for time trial bikes."
*****NO-RACE DAY REGISTRATION!*****
Entry fee (online only): $40 from now until May 1, 2019.
$50 from May 1 – 17, 2019.
TIME TRIAL INFORMATION
Start: Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. at Eubanks Welcome Center, Piedmont, AL (Note: You will be assigned a start time based on your age.)
Finish: Pete Mathews Coliseum, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL (Same venue as the Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo & ULTRA, and Chief Ladiga Cruise)
Course: Piedmont to Jacksonville all on the Chief Ladiga Trail, a paved rails-to-trail. Link: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28935895
It’s YOU against the clock!
TIME TRIAL INFORMATION
6:30 a.m. – You have two options to get to the Time Trial start.
1. Participate in a nice warm-up ride from Pete Mathews Coliseum, Jacksonville (the finish venue), to the start at Eubanks Welcome Center, Piedmont. The warm-up ride will allow you to reconnaissance the course, note hazards, and enjoy a leisurely warm-up to the start. And your car will be waiting on you at the finish.
2. Drive to the start or have someone drive you and drop you off. If you leave your car at the start, you can ride the trail back to it after the Time Trial is finished. It’s only about 12 miles! Very easy miles.
7:00 a.m. - Time Trial Check-in at the Eubanks Welcome Center, Piedmont. Time Trial participants will pick up their bib numbers/bike tags at Eubanks Welcome Center.
Chief Ladiga Trail will shut down to all traffic (pedestrian and cyclists). There will be an additional warm-up circuit route just north of Eubanks Welcome Center. Coffee and a light breakfast will be available at Eubanks Welcome Center, as are bathroom facilities.
8:00 a.m. - Time Trial will start by age groups, with a 1-2 minute break between each rider from an official time trial trailer. Your assigned start time will be posted before the event.
11:30 – 12 noon - Time Trial Awards
ALERT: While we will do everything in our power to keep walkers, runners, dogs, cyclists off the course, it is a rural area, so riders will still need to be alert. Likewise, we will do our best to mark and warn of center posts on the trail, bumps in the pavement, road crossings, etc. We will have marshals at crossings, but riders still need to be alert.
The Time Trial is a 12 mile, point-to-point course that is flat and fast. There are only three turns, which all come at the end of the route.
AWARDS
UCI doesn’t recognize overall/1st, 2nd , 3rd (m/f); however, just like for the Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century ride – the qualifier for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championship, we will recognize the overall winners with a special award. UCI recognizes only Age Group Winners (m/f), and each 1st Place Age Group Winner will receive a UCI Jersey, and all 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Age Group Winners will receive a UCI medal.
Note: Age Groups for the TT are the same as the age groups for the Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century ride.
19-34 50-54
35-39 55-59
40-44 60-64
45-49 65-70
70+
For more information, please contact one of our Time Trial Directors:
Ken Hickman, hickmank@gdls.com
Lain Hawk, lainbama@yahoo.com
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The Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century & ULTRA is a Top Ten Gran Fondo in the US, as ranked by Gran Fondo Guide!