Forget Lance Armstrong and the Swiss Alps. In October, the McDowell Mountains will host the fifth-annual Tour de Scottsdale, a 70-mile race that is expected to draw 1,500 competitive cyclists to the northeast Valley and benefit the mountain preserve.

Air whooshes past your ears. You grip the handlebars tightly as the bike glides down the hill, no brakes. Glancing to each side, you’re amazed by beauty. The surrounding McDowell Mountains are the perfect backdrop for a Valley bike ride.
 
Brian Lemke, a past participant in the Tour de Scottsdale, says the course for the Tour de Scottsdale race is one of the most beautiful bike routes in the Valley.
 
On October 4, hundreds of cyclists will join Lemke for the sixth annual Tour de Scottsdale. The 70-mile course winds through five cities: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills and Carefree. Among the rides will be up to 20 professional Arizona cyclists. The scenic race starts in north Scottsdale at Market Street at DC Ranch at 7 a.m.
 
The Tour de Scottsdale race began in 2004 as a way for the DC Ranch community to strut their stuff and draw crowds to the posh new master-planned community at the foot of the mountain preserve. In addition to a course scattered with spectators, the race features a 2.5 mile family fun ride, kick-off events and expos.
 
 Kimberly Crowther, DC Ranch Community Council spokeswoman, says 1,500 cyclists are expected to participate this year, a huge leap from last year’s 1,022 cyclists and bounds from the 612 cyclists who rode in the inaugural race.
 
Money helps. For the first time, cash prizes will be awarded $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third for both men and women.
 
“Given that the event is now in its sixth year and continues to grow, it felt like the right time to kick it up a notch and add the cash prize,” Crowther says.
 
“The level of excitement about the Tour is raised because of the prize,” says Eric Salstrand, winner of the 2007 Tour, in a press release. “People think the Tour might not be competitive, but if you are wearing a number and being timed and could win money, it is competitive.”
 
Lemke says the tour has changed from a citizen event to a bona fide competition with pro riders gunning for the finish line.
 
Not only will the top three men and women cyclists cash in, they’ll be giving back to the community as well. Proceeds from race entry fees will be spilt between the DC Ranch Community Foundation and McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, said Linda Raish, the conservancy’s community development director.
 
In 1995, the city made a conscious decision to preserve this land, purchasing it in increments. Now, the preserve encompasses one-third of Scottsdale’s land.  
 
Since its inception in 2004, over $50,000 has been raised for MSC the conservancy. These funds are used for educational programs, mitigating trail damage and maintaining habitats at the 16,000-acre preserve.
 
Sixteen thousand acres are already protected, and the conservancy is seeking to preserve an additional 20,000 acres by putting an initiative on the city ballot. If passed, the 36,000-acre preserve will span from the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale to the Tonto National Forest, making it the largest urban land preserve in the U.S. Crowther says. It serves a greater cause for all residents.
 
“It’s not just so north Scottsdale folks have a pretty view,” Crowther says.
 
At this point, you may be wondering, out of all events for DC Ranch to capitalize on, why a bike race?
 
Raish said MSC’s has had a long-standing partnership with DC Ranch due to proximity.   
 
“A cycling event was the best way to take advantage of the sheer expanse of the Preserve in a way a run or other type of event could not,” Crowther says.