HOPKINS, Mo. — While the professionals pass vineyards and scale mountains on the Tour de France, an estimated 50 amateur cyclists will pass farm fields and ride rolling hills Saturday during the 102 Valley Bicycle Race and Tour, the area’s longest running cycling event.

The 23rd annual event this year will cover an 18-mile course west of Hopkins. It is among the shorter and easier routes of those chosen throughout the years. There have also been 23- and 25-mile routes during the race’s lengthy run.

“The route each year is largely determined by the quality of the state roads,” said founder Maurice Peve, himself an avid bicyclist at the age of 79. “This west route is moderately hilly with a couple of good climbs. It’s probably one of the easier routes.”

Peve founded the race in 1986 as a feature of the annual Hopkins Picnic, which is in its 120th year. He said he organized it at the suggestion of Lenox, Iowa, cyclist Steve Sawyer, who won the 1986 race and is a three-time champion.

While the tour has had a continuous run, the race has been held just 20 of those years — missed twice due to highway construction and once because of the organizer’s hospitalization.

The event has drawn racers from throughout the region, but pulls heavily from southern Iowa and the St. Joseph area. David Neidinger of St. Joseph, now a University of Kansas student, won the 2007 race, covering 23 miles in 65 minutes, 42 seconds.

Peve said he organized this event with health and fitness in mind.

“My main objective is to get people interested in cycling and what it can do for you,” said Peve, who rode 3,000 miles last year despite nearing octogenarian status. “Cycling is the reason I feel as good as I do.”

While Peve said he is no longer likely to engage in the full-out sprints, he and other cyclists attending Saturday’s event don’t have to. Along with the 9 a.m. race, more leisurely scenic tours of 8 or 18 miles begin at 9:15 a.m.

“Some people are intimidated and don’t think they are experienced enough, but we are glad to have anybody,” Peve said.

Entry fee for the race is $15 through today, or $20 on the day of the event. Bicyclists 14 and younger may enter for free, but riders under the age of 10 must have a parent riding with them.

The overall male and female winner will receive a trophy, with medals and jerseys given as prizes to the winners of each of six age categories.

The ride starts and finishes in south Hopkins near the stage set up for Hopkins Picnic events.

Ron Houston and his J.L. Houston Co. are sponsors of the event, with Houston assisting Peve this year with results tabulation.

Sports reporter Rick Dunaway can be reached at rickd@npgco.com