Cycling race featuring gravel roads around Whitefish planned for next summer

A new cycling race planned for next year is expected to showcase the gravel roads around Whitefish and views of Glacier National Park.

Whitefish native and cyclist Jess Cerra, and her partner, Sam Boardman, are planning The Last Best Ride set for Aug. 22, 2021.

Cerra says over the years she’s been to so many places for biking races that reminded her of Whitefish, she just knew a race needed to be organized in her hometown.

“Gravel racing is the biggest growing sector in the biking world,” Cerra said. “When these races sell out in these cool destinations it changes the economy. Road cycling can be pretentious, but because gravel racing is unsanctioned you have the top pros riding next to the enthusiast — it’s much more approachable.”

Two course distances are planned — a 48-mile short course with 4,800 feet of elevation gain and a 78-mile long course with 8,700 feet of elevation gain. The exact race courses have yet to be set, but both are expected to go up over Big Mountain.

Registration opened on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and is $175 for the long course event and $145 for the short course, with discounted entries for riders who register with their collegiate club programs.

There are 550 spots for cyclists in the race. Prizes will be awarded for top finishers in various categories for the races.

Cerra says one of the goals of the race is to get women involved and she expects to set aside 50 spots for community leaders who are professional athletes in sports other than cycling.

“The sport of cycling has been dysfunctional and biased against women, and that’s something I knew I wanted to act on and change,” she said. “I want to make sure we’re getting people to enter who aren’t normally represented.”

Cerra, who is a Whitefish High School and University of Montana graduate, is a former professional mountain biker turned road racer. She is a private chef and owner of the JoJe Bar, an energy bar.

Describing herself as a financially disadvantaged youth, Cerra says when she graduated from WHS in 2000, the community stepped up and supported her through scholarships so she could attend college.

With that in mind, the race has been designed so that 20% of the proceeds go to the race’s Champion Scholar Award, which will be given to one financially qualified Whitefish female student and one financially qualified local Native American student seeking post-secondary education.

“This is a big part of it for me is to do something for the community,” she said.

The name of the race comes from the phrase long used to describe Montana.

Cerra and Boardman say they hope to capture the essence of Whitefish as an adventurer’s destination through a race experience.

“After exploring the gravel roads of Whitefish all summer, we thought, ‘wow, this would seriously be one of the most beautiful gravel venues in the entire country,’” Boardman said.

Boardman has raced professionally on the road for the past two years. When not racing, he works as a substitute teacher and special education resource aide.

As professional cyclists who have competed all over the world, the organizers had a clear vision for what they pictured as the ideal race.

“We believe that the spirit of The Last Best Ride itself is equally as important as the spirit of community,” Cerra said. “So we made the event all the things we wished races could be: challenging enough for top pros while still approachable enough for enthusiasts, inclusive to families, and supportive of the local community.”

A casual pre-race dinner and fundraiser is set to take place outdoors at a local eatery on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021. On Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, Great Northern Cycle & Ski, plans to host the race expo and evening block party, complete with food trucks and live music. Included in the race entry is a post-race celebration with local food and huckleberry ice cream.

The ride is intended to be family-friend, and during the event spectators can wait for racers at the top of Whitefish Mountain Resort.

For more information, visit thelastbestridemt.com, check out @thelastbestride on Instagram, or contact the race organizers at ridewhitefish@gmail.com.