Photos: Courtesy of Jim and Jackie Blurton at Silver City KOA. The group and packing up their bicycles for the trip home.

The Garmin Cervelo Junior Team traveled to Grant County this week to get acquainted with the course of the Tour of the Gila, in preparation for returning for the Tour of the Gila Bicycle Race, taking place in the region May 2-6.

The Tour, in it's 26th year in the area, is now on the Union Cycliste Internationale calendar, which will bring in at last five international teams.

The 11-member contingent, including the director and coach, Christian Willaims, arrived in Silver City in the midst of Monday's snowstorm, but according to their coach they went for a bike ride anyway.

They stayed at the Silver City KOA Campground for four nights before leaving Friday morning to return to their base in Wimberley, Texas, in the Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin, Texas.

The riders range in age from 14 to 17 years. This is their second year to come back.

"This is the most challenging course in the U.S.," Williams said, "with the mountains and altitude, and aside from the snow, the predictable weather.

"We'll be back to race, although we won't arrive until the day before, because we'll be at the Pan American Games right before," he continued. "We will be coming from Guatemala to Silver City."

The junior members of the team include Carlo Villarreal, Landon Beauchamp, Adrian Costa, Imari Miller, Jonah Tannos, Jonathan Schilling, Noah Williams, Chris Keeling, Mino Giunta, and Jordan Cullen.