Roughly 1,000 cyclists took over downtown Manhattan Beach on Sunday, July 12, 2026, racing for a share of $17,500 in prize money and California/Nevada state criterium championship titles at the 63rd Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix.
The Southern California/Nevada Cycling Association and Northern California/Nevada Cycling Association held their combined state championships alongside the Grand Prix, with riders competing for state champion medals and jerseys. A kids' ride for children as young as preschool age accompanied the competitive races, continuing the event's tradition as a family affair.
Riders looped the 1.3-mile circuit clockwise past Live Oak Park, up Valley Drive and down Ardmore from 15th Street to Pacific Avenue, navigating two sweeping 180-degree turns and 50 feet of climbing per lap. Organizers bill it as the oldest single-day criterium in the United States still held on its original course.
The man who started it all
Ted Ernst, known as the grandfather of cycling in the South Bay, founded the Grand Prix in 1962 after moving to Manhattan Beach in 1960 and purchasing a bike shop he renamed Ted's Manhattan Cycles. He launched the South Bay Wheelmen cycling club in 1961 and staged the first race the following year with just 120 riders and a $2 entry fee.
"We only had 15 to 20 members in the Wheelmen at the time but I wanted to have a real family-oriented community event where friends could get together for a day of cycling and decided to take a chance," Ernst told Easy Reader News in a 2011 profile.
The gamble paid off over six decades. Ernst was an American Professional Track Champion in 1959, competed in more than 1,000 races, coached Olympic-caliber athletes, and managed World Championship and National Teams before the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame inducted him in 2006 in the Contributor category. The South Bay Wheelmen, which co-hosts the Grand Prix with the Lions Club, has produced multiple U.S. National Team members, according to the Hall of Fame.
The event paused during the COVID-19 pandemic before returning, and the 2026 edition marks the 63rd running. It now draws up to 10,000 spectators along the downtown course each year, according to organizers.
Up next on the Manhattan Beach sports calendar
The Manhattan Beach Open Tennis Tournament runs Thursday, July 16, through Sunday, July 19, at Live Oak Park Tennis Courts and Mira Costa Tennis Courts. The AVP Manhattan Beach Open Beach Volleyball Tournament follows Thursday, August 13, through Sunday, August 16, at the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier.
