HATCHER PASS — Next time your quads are complaining on the ride up to Independence Mine, you are allowed no self-pity.

Summiting Hatcher Pass in your upright bike is nothing compared to the crucible of hand-cranking your way to the top, like the 36 riders will do Sunday for the last stage of Sadler’s Alaska Challenge.

By the time they roll to a stop at the mine, the competitors in the world’s longest handcycle and wheelchair race will have traveled 257 miles over eight stages.

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“Think of it as the Tour De France of handcycling and wheelchair racing,” said Beth Edmands, the executive director of Challenge Alaska, the group that puts on the race.

As this is the 25th anniversary of the Alaska race, the organizers developed a new, commemorative route. On Monday, the racers began in Seward with first a time trial and then a group stage. Tuesday was a ride up the Hope Highway, followed by a time trial from Girdwood to Bird Creek on Wednesday. After a tour of Cordova on Thursday, the racers head from Valdez up and over Thompson Pass today. Saturday, the race starts at the Wrangell/St. Elias Visitor Center and finishes at Lake Louise.

On Sunday, the final stage begins at the Sutton School heading south on the Glenn Highway. The route turns west on Farm Loop Road and continues north to Hatcher Pass ending at Independence Mine, 30 miles from the start.

“We have a pretty cool finish line we set up. We hope people come out,” Edmands said.

The wheelchair racers leave Sutton at 7 a.m., and the handcyclists leave 30 minutes later. Edmands expects the first racers to arrive around noon, and more will roll in for the next couple hours. Spectators should arrive around 8 a.m. to keep the road clear for the racers.

“There is quite a difference in finishing times between the groups,” Edmands said.

Why are “Kneelers” and “Longseats” capitalized? Are those brand names, or simple descritions of a type of bike?

The 36 racers are divided into four classes. Racers with more use of their upper body tend to ride handcycles called Kneelers, Edmands said. Like the name implies, they kneel on a platform with their legs tucked in. This allows them to lean over and work the cranks with the weight of their upper body. Riders with more limited mobility ride handcycles called Longseats. In a more aerodynamic, reclined position, riders simply crank the pedals with their hands.

The third group are purists in custom-made, three-wheeled wheelchairs. They ride hunched over and wear specially designed gloves to punch the wheels over and over. The fourth group is an open class for all women riders.

“A wheelchair racer is like a runner running a marathon,” Edmands said. “A handcyclist is more like a traditional cyclist.”

The participants really run the gamut in terms of their level of ability, Edmands said. Some were born with congenital birth defects and have never been able to walk. Some have suffered spinal cord injuries that have changed the focus of their competitive pursuits. Some, like Melissa Stockwell, are wounded veterans. After losing a leg in the Iraq war, she went to the 2008 Special Olympics in Beijing to compete in swimming and has now turned to handcycling.

Olympic experience is the norm for this year’s field, Edmands said, as 16 of the 36 racers went to China last year. Four won gold medals, seven hold world records and two are the most decorated athletes of all time in their respective fields.

This race is part of the U.S. Handcycling Series, Edmands said. There are races all across the country with participates from across the world. In addition to the seven Alaska racers in Sadler’s Alaska Challenge, there are 16 racers from other states and 13 racers hailing from international locales.

“We are the only stage race in the country,” Edmands said. “This is a natural evolution for disabled handcycling. We would like to see more of these races around the world.”

The race in Alaska has other peculiarities, evidenced by this year’s events. Before riders were allowed on the Exit Glacier time trial in Seward, they had to sit through a bear safety talk.

“Of course, the racers were making fun of us,” Edmands said. “One of the girls was teasing us in her blog.”

Sure enough, on the Girdwood time trial, rider Sherry Schulz turned the corner to see a small black bear off to the side of the trail.

“She calmly and firmly said, ‘Go away bear,’ just like she was taught. It turned and walked off into the woods,” Edmands said.

This sort of firm will and determination is the hallmark of all the Sadler’s Alaska Challenge racers. Sunday, as the last rider makes the last crank in this inspirational race, spectators will see men and women conquering the state in a way few with functioning legs would even attempt.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.