50th Longsjo Classic will race to Princeton Common.

Byline: Paula J. Owen

The Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is bringing in top cyclists from around the world for its 50th year and will end on the Princeton Common for the first time, with a host of festivities planned throughout the four-day race.

The 50th anniversary events planned by the Longsjo committee take place July 2 through 5, with races for several categories of riders each day and related activities.

Ed Collier, Longsjo executive director and race coordinator, said the changes this year are exciting.

"Finishing in Princeton Center this year is a big deal for us," he said. "The Longsjo has had many course changes in the course of 50 years. It helps keep the course fresh."

The mountain stage, called the Wachusett Mountain Road Race, on July 4, is the third day of the four-day race. Though the race will not have the grueling final climb to the summit this year that many racers love, Mr. Collier said ending the mountain stage on the Common will allow for a more festive atmosphere, with more spectators able to see the finish.

The mountain stage will follow the same clockwise loop as last year, taking Mile Hill Road to Route 140 south, then Route 31 south from East Princeton to the Common, and Mountain Road to Mile Hill Road. The finish line will be about 100 meters up Mountain Road from Route 31.

"There should be some amazing duels on the final climb," said Mr. Collier.

As of last week, 450 riders had already signed up for the event, he said.

This year's race will feature one of the best professional women's fields it has ever had, said Mr. Collier, with more than 100 top female cyclists competing.

He said one of the women is one of the greatest cyclists of all time, Jeannie Longo, who is traveling from France with her husband for the event.

Ms. Longo, 50, is a four-time Olympic medalist, a 15-time national champion in her native France and a 13-time world champion in road and track cycling.

She is famous for her competitive nature and longevity in a sport where some of her competitors were not yet born during her first Olympic competition in 1984, Mr. Collier said.

He said this is the biggest year for returning national and world champions attending the Longsjo.

A community dinner, a new Longsjo event this year, is planned for 6 p.m. July 2 at the Senior Center, 14 Wallace Ave. People can meet some of the riders and see the tricked-out team cars parked out front, he said, and the first 100 children get a free autograph book. A pasta dinner costs $5, free for kids 12 and younger.

Returning champion Robert E. Phillips is one of the only racers to have won the Longsjo as both a junior and senior. Also known as the Baltimore Bullet in honor of his hometown, he is still an enthusiastic racer at 62. He was part of the Raleigh Boys, the racing team from the 1970s that put America on the international cycling stage.

A 14-time national champion and winner of the Masters World Cup in 1996 in New York, Mr. Phillips also promotes a bike race himself.

"It takes a lot of hard work and great organization to run a race and keep it going," said Mr. Phillips. "For the Longsjo to keep going on such a high level every year, it is just A-plus."

Richard M. Ring, who was the announcer for the Longsjo for 40 years, will be retuning for the event.

"I watched it evolve from a one-day event to a stage race," Mr. Ring said. "Many Olympians and world team members have participated over the years in Fitchburg. The commentary went, `To go to Europe, you have to pass through Fitchburg.' Many of the riders that went on to Europe and did well started at the Longsjo Classic in Fitchburg."

Mr. Ring, 75, and Art Longsjo, for whom the race is named, started competing together when they were teenagers.

Mr. Longsjo, a well-liked and respected Olympic speedskater and cyclist from Fitchburg, died at age 26 in the prime of his career in a car accident in Vermont in 1958.

Mr. Ring talked about the first few years of the memorial race.

"I rode in the first few Longsjo races after Art was killed," he said. "The way the committee functioned, they were flying by the seat of their pants."

He said the committee in the beginning was on a learning curve and members learned really fast how to put on a race.

"Everyone had a job to do and they got it done, and on race day everything went off like a Swiss clock. It was great for the riders. It was a professional atmosphere that they were immersed into."

He said the race kept in the spirit of what Mr. Longsjo was about - ethics and sportsmanship.

"Art was a class ahead of me," he said. "He was an exceptional athlete. You knew when you were in line with him you were in for a war. He was just a fantastic individual to compete against."

For more information, visit www.longsjo.com.

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: T&G File Photo/RICK CINCLAIR

CUTLINE: Stage winner John Murphy, third-place winner Alejandro Borrajo, second-place winner Emile Abraham, and fourth-place winner Kleber Ramos, front, left to right, battle to the finish in stage four of the 2008 Longsjo Classic.