| Nevada City Classic | |
| Date: | June (commonly on Father's Day) |
| Region: | Nevada City, California, United States |
| Organiser: | Charlie Allert |
The Nevada City Classic (previously: Tour of Nevada City; Father's Day Bicycle Classic), was a one-day road cycling race[1] held in Nevada City, California. Established in 1960, the Nevada City Classic commonly occurs on Father's Day and brought thousands of visitors to Nevada County.[2] While the first race brought out approximately 1,500 spectators, the numbers have swelled to 15,000 spectators in recent years.[3] Sponsored by the Nevada City Chamber of commerce, the schedule included Women's, Junior's, and Master's races, in addition to the Men's main event. Past winners include Greg LeMond.
The 90-minute race included 40 laps on a twisting, hilly 1.1miles circuit[4] with over 300 feet of climbing.[5] The course, basically unchanged since its advent, was considered by experts to be the toughest one-mile criterium in the United States.[6]
Established in 1960, the Nevada City Classic was the largest and oldest bicycle race on the West Coast, as well as the second-oldest bicycle race in the country.[7] It was initiated by Charlie Allert, a native of Dresden, Germany, who had been a bicycle racer and master lithographer before arriving in Nevada City by way of San Francisco. With a course laid out by Allert, the first race was held on Father's Day 1961.
The 1961 and 1962 races were won by Bob Tetzlaff, a Los Gatos school teacher. Starting in 1963 when he was 18 years old, Bob Parsons from Pasadena won the race the next five years. John Howard won in 1970.[8] Greg LeMond was the winner for the three consecutive years of 1979-81 and he was subsequently honored when the Nevada City City Council proclaimed August 11, 1986 as "Greg LeMond Day". Todd Gogulski (1986, 1988), Scott Moninger (1994, 1997, 1999, 2006), Alexi Grewal (1993), and Levi Leipheimer (1998) also took the top spot. Having participated in the race 19 years earlier, Lance Armstrong returned in 2009, and won using illegal drugs and methods, and has been disqualified with the result voided[9] It was hailed at the time as the first victory of his comeback as it preceded his return to the Tour de France.[10] Ian Boswell was the winner in 2010.
In 1997, the race was designated a National Classic Pro Points Race,[11] and thirteen years later, in 2010, its course became the starting point of the Stage 1 of the Tour of California.[12]
The race was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and never resumed because of declining attendance in years prior.[13]
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  Bob Tetzlaff | ||
| 1962 | Bob Tetzlaff | ||
| 1963 | Bob Parsons | Dave Capron |  Ian Mahon |
| 1964 | Bob Parsons | Tim Kelly | Sharp |
| 1965 | Bob Parsons | David Brink | Ward Thompson |
| 1966 | Bob Parsons | ||
| 1967 | Bob Parsons | David Brink (cyclist) | Dan Butler |
| 1968 | David Brink | John Allis | Dan Butler |
| 1969 | Bill Wild | ||
| 1970 | John Howard | ||
| 1971 | Fred Fisk | Geoffrey Conley | Richard Baronna |
| 1972 | Dave Walters | Don Davis | Harry Morton |
| 1973 | Keith Vierra | Gary Fisher | Steve Lundgren |
| 1974 | Ed Parrot | Bill Wild | |
| 1975 | Bill Wild | Don Davis | |
| 1976 | Mark Pringle | Larry Malone | Tim Kelly |
| 1977 | Rick Baldwin | Bob Cook | Larry Shields |
| 1978 | Bob Cook | Kent Bostick | Ron Miller |
| 1979 | Greg LeMond | William Watkins | |
| 1980 | Greg LeMond | Toby Power | Keith Vierra |
| 1981 | Greg LeMond | Greg Demgen | Wayne Stetina |
| 1982 | Toby Power | Jeff Pierce | Glenn Sanders |
| 1983 | Dale Stetina | ||
| 1984 | Greg Demgen | ||
| 1985 | Jeff Pierce | ||
| 1986 | Todd Gogulski | ||
| 1987 | Gervais Rioux | ||
| 1988 | Todd Gogulski | ||
| 1989 | Mark Caldwell | ||
| 1990 | Nate Reiss | Scott Moninger | Bart Bowen |
| 1991 | Chris Huber | ||
| 1992 | Michael Engleman | Scott Moninger |  Wayne Morgan |
| 1993 | Alexi Grewal | ||
| 1994 | Scott Moninger | Michael Engleman | Bobby Julich |
| 1995 | Michael Engleman | Tyler Hamilton | Nate Reiss |
| 1996 | Chad Gerlach | Thurlow Rogers | Scott Moninger |
| 1997 | Scott Moninger | Chris Horner | Chad Gerlach |
| 1998 | Michael Engleman | Levi Leipheimer | David Clinger |
| 1999[14] | Scott Moninger | David Clinger | Chad Gerlach |
| 2000[15] | John Peters | Trent Klasna | Frank McCormack |
| 2001 |  Ernesto Lechuga | ||
| 2002 | Antonio Cruz | ||
| 2003[16] | Eric Wohlberg | James Mattis | Justin England |
| 2004 | Justin England | Antonio Cruz | Philip Zajicek |
| 2005[17] | Burke Swindlehurst | Andrew Bajadali | Alex Candelario |
| 2006[18] | Scott Moninger | Gordon McCauley | Antonio Cruz |
| 2007[19] | Darren Lill | Scott Moninger | Antonio Cruz |
| 2008[20] | Justin England | Scott Nydam | Graham Howard |
| 2009[21] [22] | | Ben Jacques-Maynes | Levi Leipheimer |
| 2010[23] | Ian Boswell | Paul Mach | Zachary Davies |
| 2011[24] | Ian Boswell | Evan Huffman | Nathaniel English |
| 2012 | Stephen Leece | Nathaniel English | Chuck Hutcheson |
| 2013[25] | Stephen Leece | Roman Kilun | Jon Hornbeck |
| 2014[26] | Walton Brush | Torey Philipp | Chris Harland-Dunaway |
| 2015[27] | Nathaniel English | Max Jenkins | Colin Daw |
| 2016[28] | Jason Saltzman | Cameron Bronstein | Chris Riekert |
| 2017[29] | Chris Riekert | Cameron Bronstein | Torey Philipp |
| 2018[30] | Chris Riekert | Aria Kiani | Robert Skinner |
| 2019[31] | Gavin Murray | William Myers | Ford Murphy |
| Cancelled |
| Year | Winner | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Heidi Hopkins | ||
| 1979 | Heidi Hopkins | ||
| 1980 | Cindy Olivarri | ||
| 1981 | Cindy Olivarri | ||
| Cancelled | |||
| 1983 | Charlene Nicholson | ||
| 1984 | Cindy Olivarri | ||
| 1985 | Inga Thompson | ||
| 1986 | Rebecca Twigg | ||
| 1987 | Chris Paragary | ||
| 1988 | Katrin Tobin | ||
| 1989 | Inga Thompson | ||
| 1990 | Katrin Tobin | ||
| 1991 | Sally Zack | ||
| 1992 | Suzie Forsyth | Michelle Blain | Jacquie Phelan |
| 1993 | Shari Kain | Jacquie Phelan | Julie Young |
| 1994 | Shari Kain | Linda Jackson | Susy Pryde |
| 1995 | Stace Cooper | Ellen Krimmel | Belinda Heerwagen |
| 1996 | Laura Mullen | ||
| 1997 | Julie Hudetz | Cynthia Mommsen | Helena Drumm |
| 1998 | Joan Wilson | ||
| 1999 | Karen Kurreck | Julie Hanson | Caren Spore |
| 2000 | Belem Guerrero | Julie Young | Susy Pryde |
| 2001 | Cynthia Mommsen | ||
| 2002 | ? | ||
| 2003 | Eryn Hanna |  Jane Despas | Cynthia Mommsen |
| 2004 | Cindy Carroll | ||
| 2005 | Barbara Howe | Cynthia Mommsen | Taitt Sato |
| 2006 | Helene Drumm | Kimberly Anderson | Amber Rais |
| 2007 | Shelley Olds | ||
| 2008 | Sarah Bamberger | Betina Hold | Ally Stacher |
| 2009 | Shelley Olds | Brooke Miller |  Kateřina Nash |
| 2010 | Kateřina Nash | Megan Guarnier | Kendall Ryan |
| 2011 | Kateřina Nash | Emily Kachorek | Susannah Breen |
| 2012 | Kateřina Nash |  Flávia Oliveira | Amy Thornquist |
| 2013 | Elle Anderson | Joanna Bechtel | Cristina Hughes |
| 2014 | Katie Hall | Kathryn Donovan | Alison Starnes |
| 2015 | Shelley Evans | Chloé Dygert | Liza Rachetto |
| 2016 | Diane Moug | Sara Enders | Amy Cameron |
| 2017 | Amy Cameron | Megan Ruble | Melanie Wong |
| 2018 | Lisa Cordova | Amity Gregg | Ellie Velez |
| 2019 | Ellie Velez | Jennifer Tafoya | Megan Brinkmeyer |
| Cancelled |