2023 Concours d’Elegance Bicycle Celebration!

The Santa Fe Century will again celebrate the “beauty of the bicycle” with a Concours d’Elegance (our bicycle beauty pageant), on Saturday, May 20st, at the official Century Registration and Packet Pick-Up. Stay tuned to this site for more details!

There will be two categories for our Concours d’Elegance:
+ Those Vintage bicycles that will be actually ridden in the Santa Fe Century Event (at any of the official distances).
+ And, those “Beautiful, Exotic, Unusual” bicycles that either won’t be ridden in the Century event or don’t qualify under our rules as “Vintage.”

Commemorative Number Plate

All bicycles displayed in the Concours d’Elegance (vintage category-to be ridden in the Century and all the others), will receive a complimentary, commemorative, frame-mount number plate on Saturday, during the Concours, to go with their official Century bib number. Number plates will be distributed at the Concours d’Elegance, when you present your Official Century Ride Number (or show a screenshot of your Official 2022 Santa Fe Century Registration Number).

Please Note: To display your bicycle(s) you must be a registered participant in Santa Fe Century event, or pay a $10.00 display fee (all proceeds from this display fee will go to charity). Register once and display as many bicycles as you would like. Remember though, you must provide
your own bicycle-stand, so your bike will be freestanding
on the pavement, safe, and under your personal supervision.

People’s Choice Award

All bicycles displayed in the Concours d’Elegance, will be eligible for the 2023 Santa Fe Century People’s Choice Award.

Vintage Bicycles that will be RIDDEN in the 2023 Century Event
Our goal is to encourage participants to ride their Vintage Bicycles in the Century events. If you’ll be riding a Vintage bicycle in one of the official Santa Fe Century distances on Sunday, and you’ll be including your bicycle in our display on Saturday, your bicycle will have a special place
in our Concours d’Elegance!

Registering as a Rider of a Vintage Bicycle
If you’ll be riding your Vintage Bicycle in the Century event, please CLICK the “Vintage Bike Rider” check box on the Century Registration Page. It’s a separate little box on the Registration page.

Clicking the “Vintage Bike Rider” box, will qualify you to receive a special commemorative rider-award, and a commemorative number plate.

Number plates will be distributed at the Concours d’Elegance, when you present your Official Century Ride Number, or show a screenshot of your Official 2023 Santa Fe Century registration number, which was emailed to you.

We also hope that you’ll dress in period style clothing on Saturday, during the Concours, as well as on Sunday, during your ride. We’d love to get a picture of you with your bike, for the Classic Bicycles of New Mexico Facebook, and the Santa Fe Century archives. (Please note: Helmets meeting CPSC standards are mandatory for all riders during the actual riding event.)

What qualifies as a Vintage Road Bicycle?

Out of respect for the now famous L’Eroica events world-wide, we’ll follow Giancarlo Brocci’s original criteria for Bici Eroiche: Your bicycle should have been built before 1988 (although vintage style bikes with steel frame from recent construction, with vintage look and characteristics, may be used). If the bicycle is geared, it should have shift levers on the down tube of the frame (exceptions include pre-1980 non indexed bar-end shifters and rod/hand manual operated front derailleurs). Your pedals should be with toe clips and straps, or for older bikes, you should have the original pedals, or something like the originals. The brake cables should pass outside and over the handlebars (cables can pass inside the frame). Tubular tires are admired, but optional.

How to sign up in the “Vintage Bike Rider” category
As you register for the Century, please mark the small box on the rider information page for “Vintage Bike.” Checking this box means that you’ll be riding your Vintage Bike in the Century Event, and if you display your bicycle in the Concours d’Elegance on Saturday, you will be entitled to the special participant’s Rider’s-Award and a special “Vintage” category number plate.

Things you should know
Only officially registered bikes, which meet the criteria as “Vintage” and will be ridden in the Sunday Santa Fe Century event are eligible for the Vintage Bike category.

Please join the Classic Bicycles of New Mexico page on Facebook for more information about the Bike Portrait Project. While you’re at the event, we’d like to take a portrait of you and your bike. So, please wear your coolest retro cycling kit.

For more information on the Vintage Bike Celebration, email classicbicyclesnm @ gmail.com.