 The race was founded in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1960, as the Arthur M. Longsjo Jr. Memorial Bicycle Race., in memory of Fitchburg native and resident Art Longsjo.In 1956 Longsjo competed in the Winter Olympics as a speed skater and at the Summer Olympics as a cyclist, making him the first American to compete in Summer and Winter Olympic Games in one year.In 1958, Longsjo Perished in a car crash in Vermont, while driving home after winning the 180 mile long Quebec-Montreal Road Race.