The Bob Cook Memorial Mount Evans Hill Climb or Mount Evans

Hill Climb Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

is a bicycle race situated on

Mount Evans Mount Evans is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,271-foot (4,350 m) fourteener is located southwest by south ( bearing 214°) of Idaho Springs in Clear C ...

near

Idaho Springs, Colorado The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...

. Begun in 1962, the race has been held every year since except for three cancellations. In 1981, it was renamed in honor of five-time race winner Bob Cook, who died of cancer at the age of 23. The race is 27.4 miles (44.1 kilometers) in length and ascends . The race takes place on the highest paved road in the United States, starting at an altitude of 7,540 feet (2,298 meters) and terminating at 14,130 feet (4,306 meters), 130 feet (39 meters) below Mount Evans' summit. Due to the altitude, the event is sometimes marked by inclement weather. Over the years, the race has attracted significant professional riders. Riders come from all over the United States and in the past the race has had riders from France, Switzerland, Germany, and Australia compete. The age range of the participants is from nine to eighty-five years. The race is also supported by volunteers from the Colorado cycling community who help marshal, drive support, officiate and work the picnic. The event includes categories for all levels of racing and encourages riders of all abilities. Between six hundred and a thousand riders compete each year in a number of categories.

Course records

Bob Cook held the course record from 1975-1980. The first three years he held the record he was a junior. The present men's record is held by

Tom Danielson Thomas Danielson (born March 13, 1978) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist who competed professionally between 2002 and 2015 for the Mercury Cycling Team (2002), the Saturn Cycling Team (2003), (2004), (2005–2007) and (200 ...

, set in 2004 with a time of 1:41:20. The women's course record is held by

Jeannie Longo Jeannie Longo (born 31 October 1958 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie) is a French racing cyclist, 25-time French champion and 13-time world champion. Longo began racing in 1975 and was active in cycling through 2012. She was once widely considered the be ...

of France at 1:59:19.

Canceled years

The race was canceled three times: twice due to snow and once when the race director was in Atlanta at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

List of winners

Women competed in the race beginning in 1976. The winners of the race are:

Race notes

References

{{reflist Cycle races in the United States Women's road bicycle races Recurring sporting events established in 1962 1962 establishments in Colorado Road bicycle races