Eric Marcotte stood next to his bike on Sixth Avenue about 20 yards past the finish line of the 29th annual El Tour de Tucson.
Sunglasses and helmet still on, Marcotte was in standby mode.
The Scottsdale resident and Carlos Hernandez of the P&S Specialized team out of Hermosillo, Sonora, were inches apart coming down the final straightaway.
The race announcer declared Hernandez as the initial winner, but after looking at photos and getting the official chip times, El Tour officials named Marcotte the winner. He held off Hernandez by six-tenths of a second.
Marcotte's final time was four hours, 29 minutes, 30.25 seconds. Hernandez finished in 4:29:30.31.
Both riders came in directly behind police motorbikes, and Marcotte said he thought his speed got up to nearly 42 miles per hour as he went back and forth with Hernandez, fighting for first place.
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"There were a couple sets of bumps, so it was hard to tell where the actual finish line was," Marcotte said. "The P&S guy went for it and I got on his wheel, but we were going so fast because we were catching the motorbikes. We both did a bike throw. It felt like we were inches apart.
"It was mayhem."
Marcotte, a full-time chiropractor, became the first back-to-back champion since Robbie Ventura won in 2001-02.
"That's pretty crazy," Marcotte said. "It's really hard to do that. You know people are watching for you and have an eye on you."
Marcotte, 31, apparently enjoys racing in Tucson. He also won the inaugural Old Pueblo Grand Prix criterium last April in downtown Tucson.
Victor Riquelme, 24, who has lived in Tucson for the past seven years, finished third behind Marcotte and Hernandez, 35.
It was Riquelme's fourth straight El Tour, but his first competitive ride since June.
While racing in the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, Riquelme crashed and was forced to have reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder.
He was "on the couch" for two months and wasn't allowed back on a bike until September.
"You don't go that long without riding and then not wonder what's going to happen when you're thrown into an environment like this," Riquelme said.
"This is my favorite race, so I had to be out there."
Riquelme's final time was 4:29:34.15.
Marcotte said Riquelme helped him hold off Hernandez and other members of the P&S team down the stretch.
It's the second straight year P&S didn't claim a championship after winning three straight.
"Some of Carlos' teammates were making a bid to catch us and I told Vic we have to keep it rolling or else those other guys were going to catch us," Marcotte said.
