FulGaz & USA Cycling are excited to announce the 2020 US Invitational powered by FulGaz.
Commencing on Friday July 24th, the event will feature five epic rides from the land of the free, spot prizes for stage finishers, leaderboards and of course, dot watching for those playing along at home.
All stages will be available in a single drop, so you can binge ride and attack them all in one day, or take a more tactical race focus and challenge your friends.
Riders have 12 days to complete the series that runs from July 24th to August 7th, 2020
Series overview
Cheaha Challenge
Miller Road Race Loop sponsored by Athletic Greens - Charlottesville, Virginia
Miller School is one of the top high school cycling programs in the US.
The school works with a local promoter to put on a summer road race on this course. On this hilly loop, be careful trying to challenge any Strava segments as these are home roads for several local pros including Eddie Anderson, Bryan Lewis, Andrea Dvorak, and local pro tour legend Ben King!
With a total distance of 24.5kms/15m and an elevation gain of 372m/1220ft this is a fun jaunt through some green wooded areas and rolling fields.
Three Larches Gravel 'n Dirt sponsored by Training Peaks- Missoula, Montana
At FulGaz, we love the more unique and quirky rides and Butler Creek delivers this in spades!
After some initial pavement and a nice warm up, this ride becomes a dirt road climb up through the forest. Mostly pretty smooth, and no vehicle traffic. It ends at what is locally known as ’TV Mountain’ on the Snowbowl ski resort.
With a distance of 19.63kms/12.1m of climbing 1080m/3500ft this is one that will get the heart pumping!
Gibraltar Road sponsored by Normatec - Santa Barbara
Filmed in stunning 4K on a bright clear day, this is the course for the unofficial "World Hill Climb Championships" This deceptively steep climb will test your climbing ability.
It’s only 11.92kms/7.4m but there’s a steep elevation gain of 893m/2929ft.
Laguna Seca Raceway sponsored by Stages Cycling - Monterey California
Jump on and ride this legendary circuit at the Sea Otter Classic. This is a fast and open race loop where you’ll swap off turns in the bunch as you weave through off camber corners some fun technical flowy sections. This route is 35.61kms/21m with 655m/ 2148ft of climbing.
Cheaha Challenge sponsored by HOTSHOT- Alabama, USA
The Queen stage of the US Invitational, this is a really tough one. Described by one seasoned rider "like riding a circular saw due to it’s up and down the profile."
The Cheaha Challenge takes place every year on the third weekend in May in Alabama. It starts at Jacksonville State University goes over the top of Mount Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama, and returns.
We’ve edited down this version to be shorter than the original, so we’re being nice, but it’s still not something to be tackled lightly.
Check out the FulGaz website to learn more: https://fulgaz.com/usa-cycling-invitational/