Athens Twilight Criterium
Cycling race in Athens, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Athens Twilight Criterium (also known as the Twilight Series or simply Twilight) is an annual professional road cycling event held each spring in Athens, Georgia, United States, since 1980.[1] Over the course of the Twilight weekend, competitive events in a variety of fields are staged, including BMX racing and trick contests, a kids' criterium, and a mountain bike or "Fat Tire" criterium, building to the principal event of the weekend: the Twilight Criterium itself.[2] The weekend features both amateur and professional races, with separate prizes for each.
| |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late April |
| Region | Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Nickname(s) | Twilight, Twilight Series |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | Professional and amateurs |
| Type | Two-day event |
| Web site | athenstwilight |
| History | |
| First edition | 1980 |
The Twilight Criterium itself is a professional race held on a four-corner, 1 km (0.621 mi) course in downtown Athens, with the men's race covering 80 km (49.7 mi) and the women's race covering 40 km (24.9 mi).[2][3] As of 2024, the event offered a combined prize purse of $120,000 across the men's and women's professional fields, with the main criterium win worth more than US$10,000.[2]
History
The race was founded in 1980 by Gene Dixon, who had opened a bicycle shop in Athens in 1973 and was introduced to European-style criterium racing by a friend who had competed overseas.[1] Dixon scheduled the race for the evening to avoid the heat of the Georgia summer, giving the event its name.[1] Car dealer Buddy Allen served as the race's first sponsor, and then-mayor Lauren Coile supported its early development.[1] Notable winners of the men's race in its first two decades included Danny Clark of Australia, who won the inaugural editions in 1980 and 1981; Steve Bauer, winner in 1982; Davis Phinney, winner in 1984; Steve Hegg, winner in 1985 shortly after his gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 1984 Summer Olympics; Jeff Pierce, winner in 1987; and Chris Horner, winner in 1996.[4]
By its 40th anniversary in 2019, the race was drawing an estimated 40,000 visitors to downtown Athens, according to the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.[1] The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 edition was rescheduled from its usual spring date to late August.[5] The race returned to its traditional late-April date in 2022 and marked its 45th and 46th runnings in 2025 and 2026, respectively.[4][6]
Past winners
Key: Course record
Men's 80K
| Year | Date | Winner | Time (h:m:s) | Second | Time (h:m:s) | Third | Time (h:m:s) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | April 29 |  John Murphy (USA) |
Tyler Magner (USA) |
 Julio Padilla (GTM) |
||||
| 2018 | April 30 | John Murphy (USA) |
01:31:14.039 |  Bryan Gómez (COL) |
01:31:14.559 | Frank Travieso (USA) |
01:31:14.746 | [7][8] |
| 2019 | April 27 |  Roderick Asconeguy (URY) |
01:35:22.044 | Daniel Summerhill (USA) |
01:35:22.554 | John Harris (USA) |
01:35:25.337 | [9][10] |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to Pandemic | |||||||
| 2021 | August 20–21[a] | Tyler Williams (USA) |
1:42:02 | Daniel Summerhill (USA) |
1:42:03 | Spencer Moavenzadeh (USA) |
1:42:03 | [11][12] |
| 2022 | April 30 | Bryan Gómez (COL) |
Tyler Magner (USA) |
 Liam White (AUS) |
[13] | |||
| 2023 | April 22 | Bryan Gómez (COL) |
Danny Summerhill (USA) |
Robin Carpenter (USA) |
[14] | |||
| 2024 | April 27 | Thomas Gibbons (USA) |
01:42:30 | Danny Summerhill (USA) |
01:42:39 | Robin Carpenter (USA) |
01:42:39 | [3] |
| 2025 | April 26 |  Clever Martinez (VEN) |
01:34:39 | Will Hardin (USA) |
01:34:41 |  Jim Brown (GBR) |
[15] | |
| 2026 | April 18 | Lucas Bourgoyne (USA) |
Brody McDonald (USA) |
Julien Ruhe (USA) |
[6][16] |
Women's 40K
| Year | Date | Winner | Time (h:m:s) | Second | Time (h:m:s) | Third | Time (h:m:s) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | April 29 | Petra Mullens (AUS) |
Rebecca Wiasak (AUS) |
Tina Pic (USA) |
||||
| 2018 | April 30 | Samantha Schneider (USA) |
01:02:29.315 | Erica Allar (USA) |
01:02:29.341 |  Harriet Owen (ENG) |
01:02:29.467 | [7][17] |
| 2019 | April 27 | Julie Kuliecza (USA) |
55:06.645 |  Michaela Drummond (NZL) |
55:06.750 | Emily Spence (USA) |
55:06.845 | [9] |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to Pandemic | |||||||
| 2021 | August 20–21[a] | Skylar Schneider (USA) |
1:02:27 |  Maggie Coles-Lyster (CAN) |
1:02:27 | Rachel Langdon (GBR) |
1:02:28 | [11][12] |
| 2022 | April 30 | Kendall Ryan (USA) |
Alexis Ryan (USA) |
Jennifer Valente (USA) |
[13] | |||
| 2023 | April 22 | Alexis Ryan (USA) |
Andrea Cyr (USA) |
Erica Zaveta (USA) |
[14] | |||
| 2024 | April 27 | Alexis Magner (USA) |
01:04:39 | Coryn Labecki (USA) |
01:04:40 | Harriet Owen (ENG) |
01:04:40 | [3] |
| 2025 | April 26 | Alexis Magner (USA) |
00:56:42 | Arielle Verhaaren (USA) |
Kendall Ryan (USA) |
[15] | ||
| 2026 | April 18 | Kendall Ryan (USA) |
Ivanie Blondin (CAN) |
Arielle Verhaaren (USA) |
[16] |
Notes
- The 2021 edition was rescheduled from its usual spring date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.