Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb facts for kids
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | August |
| Region | Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, United States |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Type | One-day race |
| History | |
| First edition | 1973 |
| Editions | 37 |
| First winner |  John Allis (USA) |
| Most wins | Tyler Hamilton (USA) (4 times) Aimee Vasse (USA) (5 times) |
| Most recent | Phil Gaimon (USA) Courtney Nelson (USA) |
The Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb is an annual American cycle racing event held in New Hampshire. The event raises money for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center, which promotes appreciation of the environment.
Background
In August of each year, up to six hundred riders take part in the race which centers around a 7.6 mile (12.2 km) climb to the top of New Hampshire's Mount Washington—the highest peak in New England. The Mount Washington Auto Road has an average gradient of 12% and reaches gradients of up to 22%.
The race's most famous victor is Tyler Hamilton who got his fourth victory in the race in 2006 in a time of 52:21, beating out Ned Overend by 2:20. Jeannie Longo held the women's record at 58:14 prior to the records being reset in 2022, while Tom Danielson owned the men's record of 49:24 prior to the records being reset in 2022.
In June 2011 Mount Washington Auto Road race organizers announced that the times ridden by Tyler Hamilton of the United States and Genevieve Jeanson of Canada would no longer be considered official records. Both Jeanson and Hamilton admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout their career, which led to the record loss.
As of 2022, the road is completely paved, whereas previously portions of the climb was gravel. The process of paving the road began in the 1970s. Due to the road change, race organizers chose to reset the records in 2022. Because of this, the current male record is 50:38, made by Phillip Gaimon in 2022, and the current female record is 1:09:35, made by Courtney Nelson in 2022.
Past winners
| Year | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 |  John Allis |
1:15:05 | Unknown | |
| 1974 | John Allis |
1:01:39 | Unknown | |
| 1975 | Results unknown | |||
| 1976 | John Howard | Barbara Amburgey | ||
| 1977 | Mike Hogan | 58:24 | Ester Salmi | |
| 1978 |  Martin Ernst Bruhn |
1:03:21 | Unknown | |
| 1979 | Steve Pyle | 1:01:29 | Unknown | |
| 1980 | Dale Stetina | 0:57:41 | Unknown | |
| 1981 | Steve Pyle | Unknown | Beth Heiden | 1:16:30 (new wm's record) |
| 1982 | Matt VonWahzle | 1:06:22 | Murrie Green | 1:14:24 (new wm's record) |
| 1983 | Gary Evans | Unknown | ||
| 1984 | Chuck Canfield |
1:03:45 | Martha Tuttle | 1:29:46 |
| 1985 | Chuck Canfield |
0:59:59 | Martha Pitman | 1:18:58 |
| 1986 | Chuck Canfield |
0:28:22 | Kathy Swanson | 0:31:52 (shortened due to weather) |
| 1987 | Dan Works | 1:06:20 | Kathy Swanson | 1:23:12 |
| 1988 | Dan Works | 1:07:48 | Debbie Jensen | 1:21:31 |
| 1989 | Tai Roulston | 1:10:16 | Megan Hayes | 1:22:48 |
| 1990 | Douglas Tanner | 1:05:13 | Kathy Swanson | 1:19:25 |
| 1991 | Andrew de Garmo |
1:01:30 | Mary Serreze | 1:24:40 |
| 1992 | Mike Nelson | 1:02:47 | Suzy West | 1:16:17 |
| 1993 | Joe Bucciaglia |
1:02:33 | Jodi Groesbeck | 1:16:51 |
| 1994 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 1995 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 1996 | Joe Bucciaglia |
1:00:30 | Marilyn Ruseckas | 1:14:19 |
| 1997 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:51:56 | Marilyn Ruseckas |
1:11:38 |
| 1998 | Robert Dapice |
0:59:19 | Dorrie Martell |
1:11:56 |
| 1999 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:50:21 | Geneviève Jeanson |
1:01:57 |
| 2000 | Tim Johnson |
0:55:46 |  Jeannie Longo |
0:58:14 (record) |
| 2001 | Tim Johnson |
0:53:31 |  Karen Bockel |
1:09:20 |
| 2002 | Tom Danielson |
0:49:24 (record invalidated in 2011) | Geneviève Jeanson |
0:54:02 (record invalidated in 2011) |
| 2003 | Tom Danielson |
0:51:05 | Geneviève Jeanson |
0:59:58 |
| 2004 | Justin England |
0:58:50 | Aimee Vasse |
1:10:44 |
| 2005 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:51:11 | Aimee Vasse |
1:12:38 |
| 2006 | Tyler Hamilton |
0:52:21 | Aimee Vasse |
1:08:31 |
| 2007 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
| 2008 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:54:57 |  Flavia Lepene |
1:08:52 |
| 2009 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:54:37 | Sue Schlatter |
1:07:43 |
| 2010 | Nico Toutenhoofd |
0:57:26 | Marti Shea |
1:05:42 |
| 2011 | Ned Overend |
0:55:03 | Marti Shea |
1:04:12 |
| 2012 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:52:28 | Marti Shea |
1:03:14 |
| 2013 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:50:48 | Silke Wunderwald |
1:09:56 |
| 2014 |  John Kronborg Ebsen |
0:52:53 | Marti Shea |
1:06:01 |
| 2015 | Eneas Freyre |
0:53:00 | Véronique Fortin |
1:05:58 |
| 2016 | Eneas Freyre |
0:52:10 | Victoria DiSavino |
1:07:32 |
| 2017 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:52:10 | Aimee Vasse |
1:07:32 |
| 2018 | Barry Miller |
0:53:34 | Aimee Vasse |
1:04:05 |
| 2019 | Erik Levinsohn |
0:53:42 | Stefanie Sydlik |
1:10:32 |
| 2020 | Race canceled due to Covid-19 | |||
| 2021 | Cameron Cogburn |
0:50:48 | Silke Wunderwald |
1:09:56 |
| 2022 | Phillip Gaimon |
0:50:38 (Record) | Courtney Nelson |
1:09:35 |
| 2023 | Race cancelled due to weather | |||
See also
- Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race
- Mount Washington Road Race
