Categories: Schenectady County

The top five finishers in the Paris-Roubaix cycling race Sunday in France came from five different countries.

That could happen this weekend in the Tour of the Battenkill. The 11th edition of the race, modeled after European classic-style races, had 2,500 registrants from 45 states and 10 countries at last count, according to race organizer Dieter Drake.

“A large portion of racers come from down near metro New York, New Jersey,” Drake said. “Philadelphia is a strong area for us. Boston, a lot of Canadians from Montreal and Toronto, They’re coming from all over, but the concentration is from metro New York.

“My wife does the registration, and she saw someone registered from France yesterday. It’s very cool.”

Tour of the Battenkill What: Cycling. PRO/AM: Elite Women, 68 miles; Elite Men, 105 miles. Various other categories and age groups, covering 68 miles, with junior categories covering shorter courses. Open Race Gran Fondo: 68 miles or 23 miles. Where: Starting and finishing at Washington County Fairgrounds, course winding through Battenkill Valley. When: Saturday and Sunday. Registration: On site today, Saturday and Sunday until 30 minutes before start of each race or online at www.tourofthebattenkill.com.

The marquee events will be the Elite Women’s and Elite Men’s races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. There will be more than 40 races for different age groups, all starting and finishing at the Washington County Fairgrounds, as well as a 5K race for runners. Riders can register at www.tourofthebattenkill.com, or on site today, Saturday or Sunday until 30 minutes before the race they want to enter. Space is limited.

The Elite Women’s race covers a scenic 68-mile course through the Battenkill Valley in southern Washington County. The Elite Men cover the same course, then add a couple interior loops to push the distance to 105 miles.

Not everyone finishes, but the promise of such a challenge is part of the draw for the event. Drake said cyclists familiar with the European classics in the spring are drawn to the Tour of the Battenkill for the variety of terrain. The 68-mile course features 12 miles of dirt roads.

“They go through towns, through covered bridges, over cobblestone roads,” he said of the classics. “I said, ‘OK, we’ll try that.’ We don’t have any cobblestone roads, but we certainly have a lot of dirt roads. We try to match that as much as possible, and I think that’s why it’s popular.”

The course also boasts an elevation gain of 4,029 feet and a maximum grade of 16 or 17 percent on Juniper Swamp Road in Salem.

As with any far-ranging race, Drake has to deal with residents unhappy about the effect on local traffic. He has changed the course a bit each year to try to not wear out the race’s welcome, and he places the more-than-400 volunteers near their own neighborhoods, so if drivers are being stopped for a couple minutes while riders zip through, they’re being stopped by their neighbors.

There will be 40 to 50 members of local law enforcement agencies directing traffic at intersections, which boosts the cost to run the event a bit, but makes it safer. Despite the cost, Drake said the money coming into the region makes it worth the expense.

“We track how many people are staying overnight, where they’re coming from, how much it costs to drive here, rent a hotel room and buy food,” Drake said. “At that point, it’s pretty close to $2 million to $3 million coming into the upstate economy. It doesn’t rival Saratoga Race Course, obviously, in August, but that’s not a bad weekend.”