MISSOULA — The Pintler Classic bicycle race will make a comeback Saturday in Philipsburg.
Frontiers Racing, a Montana cycling team that focuses primarily on road racing, is organizing the event. The race is sanctioned by USA Cycling and will be the official Montana State Championship Road Race.
Organizers have amassed over $4,00 for the cash purse and hope to draw riders from across the region and country.
The 2024 Pintler Classic starts on the south side of Philipsburg and finishes with an uphill sprint on Broadway Street in the historic downtown. From the start, riders head south on State Highway 1 before turning right onto Highway 38, Skalkaho Road.
Instead of going up the pass they make a right turn onto Upper Rock Creek Road and grind out a little over 7 miles of well-maintained dirt road to a right turn onto Marshall Creek Road. That takes them back to Highway 1 and Philipsburg.
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The loop is 40.8 miles with 2,253 vertical feet of climbing split between two main climbs, one on Highway 38 and one on Marshall Creek Road. Beginner categories complete one loop; pro and top amateur categories complete two.
Alex Gallego, owner of Missoula Bicycle Works, called it “such a great road course” and said it’s the epitome of Montana road cycling because of the brief dirt road section.
“Riding dirt has always been a part of riding bikes in Montana, and this course reflects perfectly well the riding and the racing that we do here in Montana,” he said.
Gallego enjoys racing the Philipsburg course so much that he revived the Pintler Classic as a standalone event in 2013. That year it also served as the state championship road race. He handed the event off to others after that year and it again faded away.
In recent years, Shaun Radley of Missoula-based MTCX Skis, Bikes and Events held a one-day road race from Bearmouth, on the Interstate 90 frontage road, to the high point of State Highway 271 near Helmville and back. That race served as the state championship through last year.
Now MTCX — plus attorney Tim Bechtold’s law firm and Jeff Crouch’s Grizzly Liquor — are on board as sponsors to help Frontiers Racing with this year’s revived Pintler Classic. Gallego said he’ll be volunteering on race day. Other sponsors include ZillaState Property Management, Active Physical Therapy & Sports Injury Center, and The Cycling House.
Crouch said he was thrilled to see the race return.
“I’m super excited to see it back. I’m super excited to see people who are excited and enthusiastic put on races. It warms my heart,” he said. “I’m really excited for them and I hope they’ll get a decent showing. It’s such a great course, too. It’s great for spectators, it’s great for racers, it’s super competitive but it’s not so hard that it’s boring.”
Gallego agreed, saying the course is approachable to beginner racers, will be exciting and competitive for all racers, and should offer excellent spectating at the uphill finish line downtown.
“If people need one more excuse to go to P-Burg, pick that race and come and watch it. That’s a great reason to be outside in P-Burg,” he said, adding the town is great to visit in summertime anyway. “And for people who are considering doing the bike race, oh man, that loop is so cool, that loop is so, so cool.”
Registration is open through Friday at runsignup.com/Race/MT/Philipsburg/PintlerClassic.
For a story and photos from the 2024 Pintler Classic, log on to 406mtsports.com late Saturday afternoon.
