The 28th Annual Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century & ULTRA, with distance options of 24, 44, 62, 84, 100 and the ULTRA course – 126 miles (for experienced riders only), will take place in Jacksonville, AL on Sunday, May 17, 2020. The century ride includes 9,714 feet of climbing including the highest point in Alabama, and the ULTRA encompasses all major climbs in the area including the hardest Category 2 climb in Alabama – Lake Chinnabee to the top of Mount Cheaha, for a total of 13,500 feet of climbing. The ride takes cyclists along the scenic and rugged terrain of the Talladega Mountains, and includes nine rest stop locations for the century and 12 rest stop locations for the ULTRA.  The Century and ULTRA are for riders 16 years old or older. If a 15 year old or younger wants to register for the Century or ULTRA, registration must be cleared and approved through the Race Director, Brooke Nelson: brookenelson@amcvets.com

For the 4th year, the 2020 Cheaha Challenge Gran Fondo Century will be a UCI Gran Fondo World Championship Qualifier, one of only two qualifiers in the USA.  Only the century riders are eligible, and your age group is determined by your age on 12/31/20.  What does this mean for the century riders? The first three in each age category and the top 20% of each age category will be awarded with guaranteed entry to the UCI Gran Fondo World Championship in September in Vancouver, Canada. Only the century riders are eligible. (Note: If there are three in your age group who start the race– everybody qualifies! If there are four who start the race, the top three qualify. If there are 100 in your age group who start the race, 20 will qualify.)  Go to the following link for all of the UCI qualification rules: http://www.cheahachallenge.com/uci-qualifying.html.

KOM/QOM – We will have three KOM/QOM competitions on our courses: Three Mile Climb (84, 100 and ULTRA routes), Chinnabee Lake Cat 2 Climb (ULTRA route) and Chimney Peak (ULTRA route). For course and prize money info, please go to our website.

Chief Ladiga Cruise – Looking for a little bit less of a Challenge, check out the Chief Ladiga Cruise, a kinder, gentler ride of 12-50 miles with the option to turn around at any point on the Ladiga Trail, a paved rails-to-trails, with rest stop locations on the route. Enjoy this rural course through north Alabama’s countryside with Dugger Mountain as the backdrop.

Challenge/ULTRA/Cruise Registration: We offer online registration from September 15 to May 15 at 6 p.m. Walk-up registration will be available on site on Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, at Pete Mathews Coliseum, Jacksonville, Alabama. (Time Trial registration is online only. No walk-up or day-of registration.)

Event Merchandise: Merchandise pre-orders will close at midnight on 2/19/20; however, we will have limited quantities/sizes on site at the event.