The event route, from the Athenian School to the summit of Mount Diablo, is 11.2 miles with 3,249 feet of elevation gain. The route will follow South Gate Rd. to Summit Rd. to the summit of the mountain. After completion, riders will be held at the lower summit parking lot.

Registration:

• Confirmation - If you register online, you will receive a confirmation email. Registration by mail is not available.

• You can also see if you registered by visiting the registration site (https://mountdiablochallenge.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=11068) and clicking on the link labeled “See if you’re registered”:

Registration opens at 7:00 am at Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Rd, Danville, CA (there is no registration at the Athenian School). Cyclists then ride approximately 2.9 miles to the Athenian School to start the event.

The Trek store in Alamo (180 Alamo Plaza) will be hosting a packet pickup day on the Saturday before the event, October 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You will also be able to register during this time on Saturday. Packets can also be picked up Sunday, October 5 (the day of the event), starting at 7:00 a.m.

If you have preregistered and you pick up your packet on Saturday, you don't need to check in at Monte Vista High School on Sunday; you may go straight to the Athenian School start area. However, event parking is only available at Monte Vista, not at Athenian.

Bike Types: Road bikes (single or tandem), mountain bikes, fixed-gear, unicycles and outdoor Elliptical bikes are allowed. Class 1 & 3 e-bikes are also permissible but are not eligible to compete for prizes or awards. E-bikes with throttles are not allowed. Adults with children in a “tow-behind" are also allowed.

While you are registering as an individual Road Bike participant, you have the option to join an existing team or create a team (if you are a team captain) of at least 4 riders. Each team can compete against other teams for the best combined time up the mountain. To join an existing team, click the drop-down arrow under the Team field and look for your team. Note if the team is all male, all female or co-ed, and click on the one you want to join. If your team does not exist, ask your team captain to create the team name, and he or she will need to indicate whether it is an all male, an all female, or coed team. A coed team must have a minimum of two males and two females. The team caption should tell the other team members to look for and join the team when they register.

Number of Team Members

You can have as many team members as you like on your team but only the top 4 finishers' times will be used to determine the “combined time” for your team up the mountain. Note that the combined time for coed teams will be determined by the time(s) of the first 2 men and the first 2 women on your team to cross the finish line.

Waves

You will have the option of starting in the same wave as your team members. If you select this option, you will be placed in the wave that corresponds to the slowest time registered for all your team members. If you do not select this option, you will be placed in the wave corresponding to your individual estimated time.

Nope. You are welcome to ride as an individual.

Day of Event Schedule:

7:00 a.m. – Registration Opens at Monte Vista High School

7:45 - 8:00 a.m. – Cyclists ride over to Athenian School to wait for their wave.

8:00 a.m. – Last MDC Staff leave for the summit with the clothing pick-up (no clothing drops are available after this time).

8:15 - about 9:00 a.m. – 1st Wave begins at 8:15 a.m. Waves will be approximately 60 riders and start in 3-minute intervals. Wave assignments are based on estimated finish times.

10:15 a.m. -- Approximate earliest time for the first descent group (pending completion of ride by riders in elite waves). Everyone MUST descend South Gate Rd. (North Gate Rd. will be closed). CENTERLINE RULE IS STRICTLY ENFORCED DURING DESCENT. DO NOT PASS ESCORT!

10:30 a.m. – Post-race venue opens at Monte Vista High School/Oak Hill Park.

12:15 p.m. – Finish Line closes.

12:00 p.m. – Awards Ceremony at the post-race venue begins.

12:30 p.m. – Estimated time of last descent group. All remaining riders must descend.

Riders will be descending the mountain while other participants are still ascending. We anticipate the longest wait at the lower summit parking lot to be 45 minutes. All descending riders will be escorted by lead vehicles in groups of 25-35 riders. Under no circumstances will a rider descend unescorted, and riders may not pass the escort. Descending riders MUST stay in their lane while descending. The last descendingwave will be at approximately 12:45 p.m.

Everyone arrives and checks in for the event early (registration starts at 7:00 am) at Monte Vista High School located at Stone Valley Road, Danville, CA. Then cyclists ride over to the Athenian School on Mt. Diablo Scenic Blvd. to get ready for their wave. Cyclists are grouped by the time they think it will take to finish the climb.

The first wave starts at 8:15 a.m. and subsequent waves are started every few minutes. The first waves get to ascend using the whole road. Later waves must stay to the right.

At the top, there is a mini-celebration with food and beverages to replenish after the climb. Then cyclists descend in groups behind escort vehicles and ride over to Monte Vista High School for a grand celebration with lots of delicious food, drink, music, goodies and awards pl,us vendors. Invite the family to join you there for the festivities!

Limited water will be available at the start. Water is available on the route. At the summit, there will be coffee, water, energy bars and other snacks available at the summit/finish. Lunch will be included with your registration (you can choose your meat or vegetarian selection during registration) and a non-alcoholic drink! If you are over 21, you will be offered a beer ticket. You can also purchase food for your friends and family members with your registration. Onsite, there will be beer available for purchase!

There are no SAG vehicles on the course but there will be bike mechanic stations at the starting area and at the summit. If a rider on the course cannot continue to the finish line, she or he will need to wait to join an escorted descending group either on their bike or in the escort vehicle.

Trainers may be dropped off at the Athenian school no earlier than 6:30 a.m. You will be asked to drop off the trainer at the corner of Diablo Rd. & Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd. You will be re-directed to turn around and head back to Monte Vista High School to park. We are not responsible for your personal belongings.

At Athenian School, there will be two “sweats” check areas:

1. Clothing to the summit or back to Monte Vista: We will transport your gear to the summit refreshment area or back to Monte Vista. There will be bins near the Athenian start line for gear going to the summit or back to the Monte Vista registration area. We are not responsible for personal items.

2. Last bin will leave for the summit at 8:00.

IMPORTANT! RIDERS WILL BE DESCENDING WHILE OTHERS ARE STILL ASCENDING.

• Elite riders (in initial waves) will be allowed to use the entire road on the ascent but must adhere to centerline rule during descent. They will be held at the summit until all categorized riders have completed the event (est. max of 30-45 minutes).

• Non-elite riders (in later waves) MUST adhere to centerline rule during ascent and descent. Descending riders will be escorted down the mountain. DO NOT PASS the escort. Descending speed will not exceed posted speed limit. A rear escort will prevent riders from dropping back in order to “catch the rabbit.”

o Helmets are mandatory

o Earbuds or headphones of any kind are prohibited

o Waves with elite riders may use entire road on ascent

o Waves with non-elite riders MUST adhere to centerline rule. Failure to adhere to this rule will cause immediate disqualification and removal from the course.

o ALL riders must adhere to centerline rule on the descent

o DO NOT PASS escorts

DO NOT cut through the Diablo Community. You must stay on Diablo Road/Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd both to and from the event.

There are 17 age categories in addition to the overall winners, King and Queen of the Mountain and Oldest and Youngest Man and Woman! The full list of prize categories is shown below.

MDC Awards & Prizes:

• Overall Podium Winners: o Men 1st place 2nd place 3rd place

• Overall Podium Winners: o Women 1st place 2nd place 3rd place

King of the Mountain (fastest man) Queen of the Mountain (fastest woman)

• Special Recognition – 1st place for the following age groups, men and women:

Age Groups

Under 11

11-13

14-15

16-17

18-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74

75-79

80+

• Youngest Rider (must finish course):

  • Boy

  • Girl

• Oldest Rider (must finish course):

  • Man

  • Women

• Champion T-Shirts

  • Women who reach the summit with a time less than 75 minutes and men who reach the summit with a time less than 60 minutes will receive a Champion T-Shirt.

• Prizes for the fastest three teams (male, female, and coed) will also be awarded.

Proceeds available from the Mt. Diablo Challenge will be directed towards improving cycling safety on Mt. Diablo.

Road, Mtn, Elliptical, Unicycle - Junior 17 & Under = $30.00 with $3.55 fee

(Registration at this price ends 09/29/2025 at 12:00 AM)

Road, Mtn, Unicycle, Elliptical - Adults 18 & over = $75.00 with $6.25 fee

(Registration at this price ends 09/29/2025 at 11:59 PM)

E-Assisted Bike - Adults 18 & over = $75.00 with $6.25 fee

(Registration at this price ends 09/29/2025 at 11:59 PM)

Tandem - Includes both riders = $150.00 with $10.75 fee

(Registration at this price ends 09/29/2025 at 11:59 PM)

Registration is capped at 1,200 riders.

Parking:

Participants must park at Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Rd., Danville, CA 94526. After registering, riders will ride their bike from Monte Vista High School to the start at the Athenian School, a distance of approximately 2.9 miles. There is no registration at the Athenian School start.

Yes, there will be photographs of the finish line that will be posted on the website after the ride.

• Transfers – Registration fee is non-refundable and non-transferrable.

• Refunds – There are no refunds.

• The registration fee is not tax deductible and is not considered a donation to any of the beneficiaries.

Responsibility:

Riders must wear bicycle helmets at all times while on their bicycles. Riders are responsible to ensure that their bicycles are in superb mechanical condition.

Riders should carry a spare tube, patch kit, pump, a water bottle, money & identification.

Please be courteous to other road users. Though Mt. Diablo State Park (MDSP) will be closed to the public, there will be authorized vehicles/motorcycles on the road between the start/finish areas and at the expo area.

During the descent, cyclists MUST stay to the right side of the road as there may be cyclists still ascending the climb, and/or authorized vehicles/motorcycles will be on the road.

North Gate entrance to the park will be closed during the entire event, including on the descent ride.

Spectators:

For safety reasons, spectators may not take vehicles on the mountain. The only access to watch the race is by trail. NO PEDESTRIANS WILL BE ALLOWED ON THE ROADS. Your friends and family are welcome to join you at Monte Vista High School for the after-ride festivities, music, awards, and food!

Timing Chip:

Each rider will receive a timing chip. Instructions on how to attach the chip will be in the registration packet.

Terrific! We appreciate and need many volunteers. Volunteer registration begins July 1. If you would like to volunteer to help with the Mount Diablo Challenge, please click here or scan the following QR code:

Please contact the Director at mailto:mdcdirector@valleyspokesmen.onmicrosoft.com

Online registration on the It's Your Race website ends September 29.