History
Berkeley Hills Road Race history: Seven decades on the same hills.
The Berkeley Hills Road Race began in 1957 and is one of the longest-running bike races in the country. Here's where it came from, who has won it, and how it keeps going.
Timeline
From one race to a weekend.
How a Berkeley bike race became the Berkeley Omnium.
- 1957
The first race
Peter Rich, a Bay Area racer who would go on to compete in Italy and Belgium, promotes the first Berkeley Hills Road Race. Bob Best wins.
- 1971
Velo Club Berkeley and the Tour of California
Rich starts Velo Club Berkeley to field a team in the original Tour of California, an eight-day, ten-stage race that he also promoted. It was the first international stage race in the United States.
- 1979
One club, one winner to remember
In January, Velo Club Berkeley and the Berkeley Wheelmen merge to form the Berkeley Bicycle Club, which has organized the race ever since. That year Jonathan Boyer wins. Two years later he becomes the first American to ride the Tour de France.
- 1983
An Olympic champion takes the win
Eric Heiden, who swept the speed skating golds at the 1980 Winter Olympics, wins on the hills. He goes on to race for 7-Eleven, ride the 1985 Giro d'Italia and win the 1985 U.S. Pro road race title.
- 1986
Club riders reach Europe
Bob Roll, who came up through the Berkeley Bicycle Club, rides the Tour de France for 7-Eleven.
- 2016
A World Tour champion lines up
Megan Guarnier, who goes on to win the 2016 UCI Women's World Tour, races the men's P/1/2 field on the Three Bears before representing the United States at the Olympics later that year.
- 2019
Future pros on the podium
Luke Lamperti wins the men's Pro/1/2 and Hanna Muegge wins the women's. Lamperti turns pro in 2021 and now rides for EF Education-EasyPost.
- 2020
A virtual edition
COVID-19 cancels the race. Riders take on the climbs on Strava in two virtual rounds that summer, raising money for East Bay NICA teams and the Alameda County Community Food Bank.
- 2022
Back on the Three Bears
The race returns on April 23 as the opening day of the Berkeley Omnium, paired with the Berkeley Streets Criterium.
- 2023
Peter Rich passes
Rich dies on August 3, the same year he is inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame as a Contributor.
- 2026
The 70th edition
The Omnium marks the 70th Berkeley Hills Road Race on April 18 and raises $28,610 for six East Bay NICA high school teams.
The founder
Peter Rich.
Peter Rich raced in Italy and Belgium as a young man, then made Berkeley a center of American cycling. He opened Velo Sport Cyclery in the early 1960s, a shop that became a hub for Northern California riders, and started a newsletter that grew into Bicycling magazine.
He founded Velo Club Berkeley and promoted the first Berkeley Hills Road Race in 1957. He was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2023, recognized for bringing ideas like weight training to road cyclists, and died that August.
The club
Run by riders, ever since.
When Velo Club Berkeley and the Berkeley Wheelmen merged, the Berkeley Bicycle Club took over the race. Club members have raced at the top level, including Bob Roll, Calvin Trampleasure, Cindy Olavarri and Gavin Chilcott, and they still put on the race today.
The Course
Why it's always been about the climbs.
The race is built around the Three Bears, Baby Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, all on Bear Creek Road near Orinda. Papa Bear's back side runs 2.1 miles, and it's where the race is usually decided.
Cycling West described the long-time pro format as five laps and about 100 miles, climbing each of the Three Bears five times for 15 climbs. Course details for 2027 are still being finalized.
See the course →Archive
Through the years.
Photos from the archive.
Archive footage
The race on film.
A 1964 home movie from the race's first decade and footage from the 2008 edition.
Now showing
1964 Berkeley Hills bicyling race home movie
A 1964 home movie of the Berkeley Hills race, seven years after the first edition.
0:53 · Video by Susan Mathews · Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
2 archive videos
Notable Riders
Names that went on to bigger things.
Olympians, national champions and Tour de France riders have raced these hills. A few of them.
Jonathan Boyer
The first American to ride the Tour de France, in 1981.
Eric Heiden
Five-time Olympic speed skating champion who turned to cycling with 7-Eleven.
Derek Bouchard-Hall
2000 U.S. criterium champion and Olympian, later CEO of USA Cycling.
Eric Wohlberg
Canadian time trial champion who rode three Olympics.
Megan Guarnier
Raced the men's P/1/2 field, then won the 2016 Women's World Tour and rode the Olympics.
Luke Lamperti
Turned pro in 2021 and now rides for EF Education-EasyPost.