Dashing past the Senator Theatre, into a right corner around the City Council Chambers and flying down Second and Main streets: bicyclists are set to race Sunday in downtown Chico for the return of the Chico Stage Race.
Hosted by the Chico Corsa Cycling Club and Performance Cycling after a four-year hiatus, the race entails an all-day closure of downtown Chico’s main thoroughfare for an elbow to elbow competition of speed.
“I describe it as Nascar on bicycles,” said Shawn Hughes, race director and president of Chico Corsa Cycling Club.
Hughes said downtown bicycle racing goes beyond his years in Chico with the Coor’s Classic in the ’70s, and he remembers stumbling upon cyclists racing downtown when he was in college in the ’80s.
What’s known as the Chico Stage Race began around 2010, which grew to become the largest attended tour in California in 2019 before COVID-19 lockdowns postponed the event, according to Hughes.
On Sunday, the Chico Stage Race will only consist of a criterium race, as opposed to previous years when the event spanned from Friday to Sunday in a variety of race types and locations throughout Butte County.
Hughes said a new racing commission cohort is being trained in preparation for a full scale event planned for 2025.
In accordance, parts of streets in downtown Chico are set to close 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunday for the race.
Main Street and Broadway between Second and Seventh streets will be closed; Wall and Salem streets will close between Second and Fourth Streets.
The first race begins at 8:30 a.m. and the final race at 7 p.m. Closed streets are scheduled to open 9 p.m.
A kids bicycle race around the City Plaza is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. and is open to the public, Hughes said. Parents may register their child before the event.
After the kids race, Fleet Feet will host the Downtown Mile foot race starting at Second Street and Broadway and ending at the Fleet Feet storefront.
A block party will be hosted by Greenline Bikes during the race at 515 Main St.
Further details and registration may be found at chicostagerace.org.
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