KILLINGTON — Gary Kessler used to be one of the guys in the saddle at the Killington Stage Race. Now he's the man in charge of making a revival of the event a memorable experience for riders, spectators and a Killington community hungry to boost summer commerce.

Kessler's baby will have its acid test Saturday through Monday when the new Killington Stage Race is contested.

Nearly 550 male and female riders will take part when the event gets under way.

"I think it's come together well," Kessler, the KRS race director and a member of App Gap Promotions, said Thursday. "I'm really happy with the number of participants. We're going to try to take it to the highest possible level for the participants."

The KRS was known as the "Beast of the East" when staged under the umbrella of Breakaway Promotions from the late 1980s through 2000. At the end of its run, the race was a five-day event that included a criterium in downtown Rutland.

This year's three stages will take place in the Killington region, starting with Saturday's Stage 1, with multiple laps on the 18-mile Route 4/Route100A/Route 100 loop. Sunday's race will be a 10-mile time trial on Route 4, from Bridgewater Corners to the town of Killington. The race wraps up with Monday's 61-mile road race, starting and ending in Killington and passing through Stockbridge, Bethel, and Woodstock.

There will be nine classifications, including the Pro 1-2 men's and women's 1-2 divisions, where the highest caliber of competition will take place.

"We have great fields, very strong and challenging courses and even the weather looks like it will cooperate. We're looking forward to a great weekend of very competitive racing," Kessler said.

Kessler, who rode for the Virgin 1.0 team during his race days in Killington, is a Fayston resident who has had a role in organizing events like the Green Mountain Stage Race.

Like the Killington community, he is very happy with so great a turnout in the first year of the new event. There are no top-name teams taking part, but Kessler is still satisfied that it will be a good show for all involved.

And this is only the first baby step for the new KSR.

"I've said repeatedly that this is a proving year to the community, that this race is of value to them," he said.

"This is an extraordinary turnout and shows that the Killington Stage Race has retained the aura it established for the many years it was run until 2000."

Registration closed on Wednesday, with the total number of entries at 545 in nine categories, including 83 riders in the elite men's field and 48 riders in the elite women's field.

Elite riders to watch include:

Jamey Driscoll of Winooski has a strong racing resume. He won last year's national collegiate road championship, is a multiple medalist at the cyclocross nationals (a hybrid event between road racing and mountain biking), and has competed internationally as a member of the under-23 U.S. national team. He was also third overall in last year's Green Mountain Stage Race;

Mark Walters, who has won five Canadian national titles and in 2002 won the First Union race in Philadelphia, at the time North America's most prestigious professional bike race;

Another Vermonter, Josh Dillon, has proven all-around skills as a stage racer, having won last year's Tour of Quebec and having finished in the top four at the Green Mountain Stage Race;

Anna Barensfeld of Massachusetts. She has been among the hottest women riders in the country this spring, having won the Fayetteville Stage Race in Texas and the prestigious Tour of the Batten Kill in New York.

Talented climbers Sue Schlatter of Ontario and Kristen Gohr of Massachusetts finished first and third, respectively, in last year's Mountain Washington hill climb.

Jenn Stephenson is an all-around talent who has been on the podium in the past in the Green Mountain Stage Race.

bob.fredette@rutlandherald.com