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The Athens Twilight Criterium (also known as the Twilight Series or simply Twilight) is an annual professional road cycling event held each spring in Athens, Georgia, United States, since 1980.[1] Over the course of the Twilight weekend, competitive events in a variety of fields are staged, including BMX racing and trick contests, a kids' criterium, and a mountain bike or "Fat Tire" criterium, building to the principal event of the weekend: the Twilight Criterium itself.[2] The weekend features both amateur and professional races, with separate prizes for each.
The Twilight Criterium itself is a professional race held on a four-corner, 1km (0.621mi) course in downtown Athens, with the men's race covering 80km (49.7mi) and the women's race covering 40km (24.9mi).[2][3] As of 2024, the event offered a combined prize purse of $120,000 across the men's and women's professional fields, with the main criterium win worth more than US$10,000.[2]
The race was founded in 1980 by Gene Dixon, who had opened a bicycle shop in Athens in 1973 and was introduced to European-style criterium racing by a friend who had competed overseas.[1] Dixon scheduled the race for the evening to avoid the heat of the Georgia summer, giving the event its name.[1] Car dealer Buddy Allen served as the race's first sponsor, and then-mayor Lauren Coile supported its early development.[1] Notable winners of the men's race in its first two decades included Danny Clark of Australia, who won the inaugural editions in 1980 and 1981; Steve Bauer, winner in 1982; Davis Phinney, winner in 1984; Steve Hegg, winner in 1985 shortly after his gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 1984 Summer Olympics; Jeff Pierce, winner in 1987; and Chris Horner, winner in 1996.[4]
By its 40th anniversary in 2019, the race was drawing an estimated 40,000 visitors to downtown Athens, according to the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.[1] The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 edition was rescheduled from its usual spring date to late August.[5] The race returned to its traditional late-April date in 2022 and marked its 45th and 46th runnings in 2025 and 2026, respectively.[4][6]
John Murphy (USA)
Julio Padilla (GTM)
Bryan Gómez (COL)
Roderick Asconeguy (URY)
Liam White (AUS)
Clever Martinez (VEN)
Jim Brown (GBR)
Harriet Owen (ENG)
Michaela Drummond (NZL)
Maggie Coles-Lyster (CAN)