Fitchburg Longsjo Classic

Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, also known as the Longsjo Classic, was an annual bicycle race held in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The race began in 1960 as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr Memorial Race, in honor of Art Longsjo.

History

The race was founded in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1960, as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr. Memorial Bicycle Race., in memory of Fitchburg native and resident Art Longsjo. In 1956 Longsjo competed in the Winter Olympics as a speed skater and at the Summer Olympics as a cyclist, making him the first American to compete in Summer and Winter Olympic Games in one year. In 1958, Longsjo Perished in a car crash in Vermont, while driving home after winning the 180-mile long Quebec-Montreal Road Race. In 1960, local civic and business leaders in the city and Art Longsjo's widow Terry Longsjo organized the first race, with input from Longsjo's racing friend Guy Morin. In 1980, a new race organizing committee formed, which renamed the event the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. The race was one of the leading bicycle competitions in the United States during this time, as evidenced by the well-known riders on the winners' list.

In 1991, the race expanded to a four-day stage race format, which continued through 2010. Stages included a time trial, a circuit race on a 3-mile loop in the Fitchburg State University area, a road race in Princeton and Westminster that finished atop Mount Wachusett, and the traditional downtown Fitchburg criterium. As a stage race, the event was one of the largest pro-am bicycle stage races in the country and part of the various national calendar races of the period.

In 2011, the race was planned to be changed from a four-day event to one day, due to financial and organizational difficulties, but was cancelled due to a building fire on the downtown racecourse. The fire occurred on June 13 at the Johnsonia Building; the race was not able to occur due to many of the streets that were in the race's pathway being closed. A 2012 multi-stage event was planned; however, the race was cancelled on June 11.

In 2013, the race was revived by the newly-created Art Longsjo Foundation as a two-day event, with a criterium in downtown Leominster in addition to the traditional Fitchburg race. A criterium in downtown Worcester was added to the event from 2014 through 2016. 2017 and 2018 included downtown races in Leominster and Fitchburg. In 2019, only the downtown Fitchburg race was held. On March 18, 2020, the Art Longsjo Foundation announced the end of the event, citing the difficulty of procuring sponsorship money from local businesses, as well as the sharp decline in riders entries over the last 5–10 years, as seen throughout the US.

Past winners

The following gives Fitchburg Criterium winners for 1960–1990, stage race winners for 1991–2010, and day winners for 2013–2019.

Women

* 1977 – Connie Carpenter Boulder, CO
* 1978 – Sue Novara-Reber Flint, MI
* 1979 – Mary Jane Reoch Philadelphia, PA
* 1980 – Beth Heiden Madison, WI
* 1981 – Carol Varnier Montreal, Canada
* 1982 – Pam Deem Pomona, CA
* 1983 – Betsy Davis Elizabeth, NJ
* 1984 – Liz Larsen Exeter, NH
* 1985 – Jeanne Golay Gainesville, FL
* 1986 – Barbara Gradley Westwood, NJ
* 1987 – Beth Mills Plymouth, MA
* 1988 – Jessica Grieco Emerson, NJ
* 1989 – Lucy Tyler Largo, NJ
* 1990 – Susan Elias Readfield, ME
* 1991 – Stephanie Roussos Amherst, MA
* 1992 – Karen Mackin Troy, NY
* 1993 – Rebecca Twigg Flagstaff, AZ
* 1994 – Jacqui Nelson Wellington, New Zealand
* 1995 – Kathy Watt Australia
* 1996 – Lynn Nixon Australia
* 1997 – Giana Roberge Saratoga Springs, NY
* 1998 – Dede (Demet) Barry Boulder, CO
* 1999 – Lyne Bessette Quebec, Canada
* 2000 – Lyne Bessette (2) Quebec, Canada
* 2001 – Lyne Bessette (3) Quebec, Canada
* 2002 – Lyne Bessette (4) Quebec, Canada
* 2003 – Katie Mactier
* 2004 – Sue Palmer-Komar Ontario, CAN
* 2005 – Sue Palmer-Komar (2) Ontario CAN
* 2006 – Sarah Ulmer
* 2007 – Genevieve Gauthier Montreal, CAN
* 2008 – Catherine Cheatley
* 2009 – Evelyn Stevens
* 2010 – Catherine Cheatley
* 2013 – Amy Miner (Leominster)
* 2013 – Ellen Noble (Fitchburg)
* 2013 – Amy Miner (Omnium)
* 2014 – Amy Cutler (Leominster)
* 2014 – Amy Cutler (Worcester)
* 2014 – Amy Cutler (Fitchburg)
* 2014 – Amy Cutler (Omnium)
* 2015 – Laura Summers (Leominster)
* 2015 – Emily Underwood (Worcester)
* 2015 – Emily Underwood (Fitchburg)
* 2015 – Leslie Timm (Omnium)
* 2016 – Ellen Noble (Leominster)
* 2016 – Ellen Noble (Worcester)
* 2016 – Amy Cutler (Fitchburg)
* 2016 – Ellen Noble (Omnium)
* 2017 – Regina Legge (Leominster)
* 2017 – Colleen Gulick (Fitchburg)
* 2018 – Ellen Noble (Leominster)
* 2018 – Ellen Noble (Fitchburg)
* 2019 – Emma White (Fitchburg)

Men

* 1960 – Guy Morin
* 1961 – Arnie Uhrlass
* 1962 – Richard Centore
* 1963 – Rob Parsons
* 1964 – Paul Ziak
* 1965 – Franco Poutenzieri
* 1966 – Sam Watson
* 1967 – Guiseppi Marinoni
* 1968 – Robert Simpson
* 1969 – Jocelyn Lovell
* 1970 – Doug Dale
* 1971 – Bobby Phillips
* 1972 – Giuseppi Marinoni (2)
* 1973 – Steve Woznick
* 1974 – Bill Shook
* 1975 – Wayne Stetina
* 1976 – Tom Doughty
* 1977 – Wayne Stetina (2)
* 1978 – Wayne Stetina (3)
* 1979 – Tom Schuler
* 1980 – Bruce Donaghy
* 1981 – Steve Pyle
* 1982 – Alan McCormack
* 1983 – Louis Garneau
* 1984 – Russ Williams
* 1985 – Jeff Slack
* 1986 – Patrick Liu
* 1987 – Roberto Gaggioli
* 1988 – Graeme Miller
* 1989 – Jeff Slack (2)
* 1990 – Tom Post
* 1991 – Davis Phinney
* 1992 – Lance Armstrong
* 1993 – Davis Phinney (2)
* 1994 – Frank McCormack
* 1995 – Mike Engleman
* 1996 – Tyler Hamilton
* 1997 – John Peters
* 1998 – Frank McCormack (2)
* 1999 – Bart Bowen
* 2000 – Henk Vogels
* 2001 – Eric Wohlberg
* 2002 – Chris Horner
* 2003 – Viktor Rapinski
* 2004 – Mark McCormack
* 2005 – Jonathan Page
* 2006 – Shawn Milne
* 2007 – Jake Rytlewski
* 2008 – Kyle Wamsley
* 2009 – Zachary Bell
* 2010 – David Veilleux
* 2013 – Allan Rego (Leominster)
* 2013 – Peter Goguen (Fitchburg)
* 2013 – Bobby Bailey (Omnium)
* 2014 – Cole Archambault (Leominster)
* 2014 – Isaac Howe (Worcester)
* 2014 – Isaac Howe (Fitchburg)
* 2014 – Cole Archambault (Omnium)
* 2015 – Sam Rosenholtz (Leominster)
* 2015 – Marloe Rodman (Worcester)
* 2015 – Kai Wiggins (Fitchburg)
* 2015 – Kai Wiggins (Omnium)
* 2016 – Curtis White (Leominster)
* 2016 – Bobby Bailey (Worcester)
* 2016 – Charles Huff (Fitchburg)
* 2016 – Curtis White (Omnium)
* 2017 – J. C. Brookshire (Leominster)
* 2017 – Joshua Anderson (Fitchburg)
* 2018 – Ryan Dewald (Leominster)
* 2018 – Curtis White (Fitchburg)
* 2019 – Curtis White (Fitchburg)

References

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1960 establishments in Massachusetts
2020 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Cycle races in the United States
Cycling in Massachusetts
Sports in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Leominster, Massachusetts
Men's road bicycle races
Princeton, Massachusetts
Recurring sporting events established in 1960
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2020
Sports in Worcester, Massachusetts
Sports in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Worcester, Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Westminster, Massachusetts
Women's road bicycle races