El Tour de Tucson, live.

Tucson's big desert ride, now in its 43rd year

El Tour de Tucson is a charity road ride that starts and finishes in downtown Tucson, with three main routes through the Sonoran desert on Saturday 21 November 2026.

The organiser, Perimeter Bicycling, is preparing the 43rd El Tour de Tucson for Saturday 21 November 2026. Every route starts and finishes at the Tucson Convention Center and the area around it, and the event is closely tied to charity: non-profit teams ride to raise money, and Perimeter Bicycling events have raised funds for local and international causes since 1983.

There are three main distances. The Century is 102 miles and starts at 7:00 am. The Metric Century is 62 miles, or 100 km, and starts at 9:00 am. The Half Metric Century is 32 miles, or 50 km, and starts at 10:00 am. The longer routes head into the Sonoran desert past Davis Monthan Air Force Base, along Old Spanish Trail and by Colossal Cave, and pass through Corona de Tucson, Vail, Sahuarita and Green Valley. Aid stations are about every 12 miles, and all routes close at 4:30 pm.

The day suits a wide range of riders. Strong cyclists take on the century early, while the two shorter routes start later in the morning. Families have their own options in the morning, with a 5K run and walk at 7:15 am and Fun Rides of 3 miles and 1 mile at 8:15 am on Cushing Street, just south of the convention center.

For spectators the place to be is downtown. The El Tour Expo and Fiesta runs over three days around the Tucson Convention Center, with live music, food, a beer garden and exhibitors, mostly outdoors. The first 102 mile finishers are expected around 10:45 am, and the top finishers are honoured at 1:00 pm.

On Livebib you can follow a cyclist who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the organiser.