Foreign Cycleists Find Success at Somerville

Not only have cyclists from other nations routinely found their way to Somerville over the years, a large number of them have won both the men’s and women’s featured races. On 28 different occasions since 1940, riders from 13 different countries as far away as New Zealand, Italy and Venezuela as well as Russia, Belgium and Guyana have crossed the finish line first.

The most race victories go to Canada, boasting 12 combined men’s and women’s winners. Four of those went to Canadian national champion and Olympian Karen Strong who dominated Somerville in the 1970s. Steve Bauer, a teammate from Strong’s St. Catherine’s Ontario cycling club, won the men’s race twice in 1980 and 1983. Bauer went on to become one of the most heralded Canadian cyclists of the modern era, winning five stages of the Tour de France.

The last Canadian rider to win here was at the most recent Tour. In 2019, 20-year-old Maggie Coles-Lyster from Vancouver used support from Pickle Juice Pro Cycling team members to launch a blistering sprint to the line in the 25-mile race for professional and elite competitors.

Probably the most interesting back story to a Canadian win at the Tour came in 1955. Toronto native Patrick Murphy had just gotten married. As the Murphys prepared for their honeymoon trip to the States, he convinced his new bride that they needed to stop in Somerville, and by the way they were taking his bike since there was a race there he thought he could win. She agreed, he won, and reportedly a new bedroom set was among the prizes awarded.

In 1968, 33-year-old Siegi Koch, who had just moved to Chicago from his native Germany, won in a driving rain with a dramatic solo breakaway. It was rumored that Koch didn’t speak English, a problem considering that the Amateur Bicycle League of America’s judges were enforcing a new rule that bike race winners who crossed the finish and raised their arms in victory would be disqualified.

At the behest of race announcer Herb Hoffman, the thousands who lined Main Street urged Siegi on, shouting in every language imaginable with each passing lap, imploring Koch to keep his hands on the handlebars when he won.

As Koch crossed the line for the final time, exhausted and drenched with rain, he had held onto his bike with both hands and wore a hint of a smile on his face, later admitting that he understood enough English to recognize the message of the crowd to help him preserve his victory.

For more information on the recreational ride and the three days of bike racing go to www.tourofsomerville.org.