Less than a month removed from the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay, local cyclists are gearing up for the next big event of the season – the Tour de Whitehorse.

Beginning tomorrow, the VeloNorth Cycling Club will host the 15th edition of the territory’s original stage race. The three-day stage race, which also doubles as the Yukon’s time trial and road race championships, culminates with

Sunday’s road race.

For the first time ever, $2,000 in prize money will be handed out in the expert and sport categories for both stage wins and overall victory, said organizer Mike McCann.

The Tour gets underway tomorrow night with a 1.8-kilometre prologue race beginning at 7 p.m. at the base of Robert Service Way.

A 20-km individual time trial will then go Saturday at 9 a.m., based from the junction of the North Klondike and Takhini Hot Springs Road.

Sunday’s 84-km road race finale will begin at 9 a.m. at Jakes Corner, with the race finishing up near Whitehorse.

Also this weekend, a group of cyclists riding 10,000 km will pass through the Yukon capital.

On Sunday, a group of intrepid travellers will arrive in Whitehorse for a rest day as part of their endeavour to cycle 10,000 kms in just under four months as part of the North American Epic.

Having set off under the midnight sun in Anchorage on July 9, the group will make its way over mountains and through national parks, riding alongside oceans and deserts, and pedalling their way through Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The journey is expected to culminate in Mexico City on Nov. 1.

From Alaska, the group heads into Canada crossing the Yukon and arriving in Whitehorse on July 19.

From there they will head into British Columbia (arriving in Fort St. John on Aug. 2nd), then Alberta.

In the United States the group will visit Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Arizona as they head for the Mexican border and Baja California. The final five weeks of the trip will be spent in Mexico as the group sets its sights on the finish line in the capital city.

Eleven participants are setting out on the full tour including six women and five men.

Sixteen others (eight men and eight women) will join for various stages throughout the adventure.

The riders hail from eight countries, including: Canada, the U.S.A., the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

The North American Epic is a long-distance cycling expedition run by Tour d’Afrique, a cycle tour company based in Toronto.

The latest excitement follows a recent training camp that saw former national cycling coach Houshang Amiri and Olympic cyclist Denise Ramsden in town for a week.

The camp was funded by Northern Lytes, a fund set up by Yukon Olympians Zach Bell and Emily Nishikawa, as well as the Arctic Winter Games Legacy Fund.

The camp concluded with the Tour de Haines Junction July 4 and 5, a three-race event comprised of a time trial, hill climb and road race.

Overall winners included Lucas Taggart-Cox (U13 boys); Johna Staley (U10 boys); Micah Taggart-Cox (U15 boys); Mollie Fraser (U13 girls); Mike Setterington (sport men); Rod Savoie (expert men); and Simi Morrison (sport women).

Finally, a small group of Yukon cyclists competed this month in Saskatchewan’s provincial championships.

Shea Hoffman, David Jackson and Trena Irving all gained valuable experience on the prairies.