Tour des Suds bikers conquer Empire Pass in style

Tour de Suds overall winner Chelsea Bolton stands atop the women's podium on Sunday, September 8, 2024. Bolton finished with a time of 46:17. Photo: TownLift

Local rider, Chelsea Bolton, wins overall and breaks course record

PARK CITY, Utah – Hundreds of costume wearing mountain bikers turned out Sunday for the 40th annual edition of the Tour des Suds, a seven mile uphill race that starts at City Park and finishes on top of Empire Pass.

The race is a celebration of the season of riding and fundraiser for Mountain Trails Foundation, a Park City non-profit organization that maintains and builds trails and keeps trail access free. For newcomers to town the Tour des Suds is a rite of passage and for locals the race is a chance to compete for bragging rights in climbing prowess – some say your time only counts if you’ve got on a tutu or other crazy costume.

This year, Chelsea Bolton, a 35 year-old woman bested the field with an impressive time of 46:14 on the course which gains over 2,200 feet. In addition to winning, Bolton also set a new course record. In second was 15 year old Kyle Clarke who rode it in 46:42 and Jameson Harper (35 year-old man) took third a few minutes behind in 49:10.

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Bolton, who was also the fastest female in last week’s Point-to-Point, shared the women’s podium with 62 year old Roxanne Toly and Taylor Lobe, 36.

“It feels so so good to have won the overall and set the course record, which I was told about post race. I am trying really hard to get some mountain biking sponsors for next season, and this win plus Point to Point last weekend have boosted my confidence. It was also so wonderful to share the podium with Roxanne Toly second place overall female, who very excitedly and kindly told me I was the first woman to ever win the entire race,” Bolton said.

One of the youngest competitors in the race this year was 6 year-old Thayne Stephens who rode with his father, Brian and older sister Declynn, 8. Both Thayne and Declynn finished the ride with no tow assistance, just a few breaks, in 2:30:01 and 2:38:21 respectively.

Full results can be found here.