The Jefferson Cup, a professional and amateur USA Cycling road race that is one of the longest-running races in the United States, returns to the area on Sunday, April 30. The Jeff Cup is a 10-mile loop that takes racers on rolling country roads through estates and vineyards, and “has been a staple of the Charlottesville cycling community for over three decades,” says Sully Beck, race director and former president of UVA Club Cycling. “We want the Jeff Cup to continue to inspire riders, just as it has for countless years.”
The event has evolved since Ruth Stornetta first came up with the idea in 1991.
“She always had a ‘racer first’ mentality, so went out of her way to ensure a great course with proper road closures, wheel cars, results services, even if all of these things meant more work from an organization perspective,” says Andy Guptill, endurance team director for the Miller School of Albemarle. “Participants saw that, and turnout increased each year as word spread about the high-quality road race.”
“As a race director, proper permitting with the police and VDOT is the first major hurdle,” says Beck. “The financial burden and uncertainty were the main reasons that prevented the return of the Jeff Cup in recent years. As a collegiate club, we were willing to invest substantial energy to take on such a risk.”
UVA Club Cycling has done much of the organizing for the event, which is also sponsored by the Charlottesville Racing Club and Blue Ridge Cyclery. Proceeds from the race will go to Community Bikes, a nonprofit local bike shop that seeks to make cycling accessible in Charlottesville by providing free refurbished bicycles to kids and adults in need.
“Hosting the Atlantic Collegiate Cycling Championship [in which the UVA team competes] … and raising funds for Community Bikes all in one weekend promises for a truly great event,” says Madison Gallagher, president of UVA Club Cycling.
This year marks the first year the race will finish with the Blenheim hill climb, a leg-burning ascent that will likely make for an exciting finish (the race begins and ends at Blenheim Vineyards).
“Blenheim is happy to support the event, and is eager to make the finish line as inviting to spectators as possible,” says Tracey Love, marketing and events manager for Blenheim, one of the Jeff Cup’s sponsors (the winery will provide parking for racers and spectators, and an embankment for seating to watch the race).
Former professional road racing champion (and Monticello High School grad) Ben King got his start at the 2008 Jeff Cup, and the race had a major impact on him.
“I was lucky to grow up in a place with such amazing roads for cycling,” says King. “Now, hundreds of thousands of racing miles later, I can say with authority that it has all of the features that make a great course.”
“I still love the sport, but my relationship to it has changed,” adds King, who retired from professional cycling last year. “I love watching the races, but am personally less focused on performance and more focused on the freedom, community, fitness, and feelings I get on a bike.”
For more information about the race, go to racejeffcup.com.