1985 - It All Starts Here...

Keep an eye on the money. The Redlands Bicycle Classic now holds a purse upward of a combined $40,000 for men and women. There were days that it was much less.

The purse was a mere $13,650. That was for the entire field, consisting of just men.

It was the inaugural Redlands Bicycle Classic, less than a full year after the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. U.S. legends Alexi Grewal, Steve Hegg, Roy Knickman, Thurlow Rogers were up against some strong cyclists from foreign nations. By the time Redlands came up with its plan to host a professional bike race, most of them were off to other continents to seek cycling dynasties.

U.S. team members Rogers and Hegg showed up in Redlands to a three-day, four-stage event over the Memorial Day weekend. Racing for ICN-La Grange, the quartet stole the show - accounting for all four stages.

Wayne Stetina and Greg Demjen joined Rogers and Hegg, a gold medal winner in the previous year's Olympic Games.

The winning rider: Rogers, whose name will live long in the history books of the local bicycle classic as the inaugural champion. Try as he might, winding up on the victory podium twice in the coming years, Rogers would never return to that winning form.

Redlands had some up-and-coming stars. Hegg won the 4,000-meter gold medal at the 1984 Games. The rider admitted, as did other members of the U.S. team, that his performance had been enhanced by blood-boosting techniques. The practice was not illegal and the rider kept his gold medal. Hegg would eventually win a number of stages in Redlands.

Top finishers: 1. Thurlow Rogers, Levi's-Raleigh; 2. Ron Hayman, Levi's-Raleigh, 0:54; 3. Raul Alcala, Team Dente, 1:01

Stage winners:

• Prologue - Rogers
• Stage 1 (40-mile criterium) - Rogers
• Stage 2 (99-mile road race) - Greg Demjen, Levi's-Raleigh
• Stage 3 (76-mile road race) - Ron Haymen, Levi's-Raleigh