Editor’s note: This is the first post of several about the 2011 El Tour de Tucson. In the coming days look for stories about how the celebrity cyclists fared, a video, a post about the Cargo Bike El Tour de Tucson, an editorial, a searchable database of results and a map of cyclist’ hometowns.

Here are just a few of the numbers that stand out from this year’s El Tour de Tucson.

6,304: The number of participants who completed one of the four distances before the 6 p.m. cut off time. 6,414 participants finished last year.

3 minutes: Difference in repeat champion Eric Marcotte’s times between this year and last. He was faster this year despite the additional two miles.

13 Minutes: Difference between Marcotte and Jennifer Wheeler, the woman’s winner. Last year it was 2 minutes, however Wheeler crashed, which slowed her down.

10 hours and 41 minutes: Time it took the final official 111-mile rider, Mitchell Owen, to finish.

11 hours and 19 minutes: Time is took the final official 111 mile rider, Carl Nicchio, to finish.

28 percent: Percentage of women who participated in El Tour de Tucson. In 2010 it was 27 percent.

60 percent: Percentage of people who rode in El Tour de Tucson that live outside Pima County. This is about the same as last year.

Check out the photos from the event below.

4 thoughts on “By the numbers and photos: 2011 El Tour de Tucson”
  1. Nice shots !   I heard about the fellow who picked up the pink toy and rode with it all the way back to the Finish.  ( I think I saw the toy along Irvington. )     What a great day.

  2. Any information on the rider with Bill Walton?  In the photo, it looks like he’s got two prosthetic legs.

  3. The gent with Bill Walton does have two prosthetic legs.  I passed him early-ish and exchanged a few pleasantries.  He had an über nice bike, a Holland, one of several Hollands I saw on the day.

    The award for the  person causing the most exciting part of the ride goes to the teen female pedestrian who decided to walk across Mission (from west to east, nearish Ajo) right in the middle of the peloton.  At that point, everyone was together, so things got extra special exciting.  The girl, hopefully, was terrified and wet herself as a learning experience. I hope she made it across safely.

    I think I counted 10-11 crashes, some involving multiple riders (i.e., 3, 4, 5…).  Someone could start a business selling water bottles with all the bottles that were dropped.  It would be nice if there was an organization that collected those, cleaned them up, and gave them to the homeless.

    I rode with someone who was new to El Tour and likewise newish to road cycling, and he loved it, save for the bit of wind in certain sections. Of course, no one likes the wind except when it’s at their backs.

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