“California Dreamin’” or “Oh Canada?” Take your pick since those riders dominated the Somerville winners podium during the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, teams sponsored by corporations rather than cycling clubs, and a fresh start for a 25-mile race for elite women, brought changes to the day’s events. Although held with few riders previously, the women’s race gained participants in 1976 as Mary Jane Reoch bested a field of 35 starters. That opened the doors for the likes of national and world track Champion Sue Novara, Flint, Michigan, to win four times (1979, 1982-1984) and legendary Canadian champion Karen Strong of Ontario to dominate in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981. Now, teams were racing for sponsors like Raleigh, 7-Eleven, Self Magazine, Shimano, and Teledyne Engineering. This led to fields that boasted household names in the cycling world arriving at Somerville each year, wearing national and world champion jerseys.
Notably leaving their mark were Roger Young of Detroit (1972); Californians, Ron Skarin, Los Angeles (1973,1974), Rory O’Reilly, Santa Barbara (1975), and Dave Boll, Stanford (1976). The first male Canadian cyclist to win Somerville since 1955 was Jocelyn Lovell in 1978; He would set the stage for fellow Canadian greats to follow in the 1980s. The 70s closed with the reputation of Somerville being “that one race to win,” boasting thousands of spectators with a “make noise” backstretch filled with curb-to-curb lawn parties, serious racing fans, and the casually curious.
