» The Illinois Cycling Association is accepting nominations for its board, and its next meeting is Saturday at 2 p.m. in Chicago.
» Some non-Chicago Cyclocross Cup races to be aware of:Psycho Cross After Dark takes place the evening of Friday, Oct. 14. Bring your own lights. There will be a bonfire, bubble machine and maybe a band, and there is the option to camp overnight ahead of the next day’s Cup race. Then on Saturday, Nov. 19, Psimet invites you to Fox River Grove for Norge Ski Jump Cyclocross.
» Project 5 Racing invites women to the 4th Annual Ladies Kit Up ‘n’ Chat Chick Ride on Saturday, Oct. 8, in Westmont. Snacks provided.
» Just a few days left for the Thought You Knew 2012 Pin-up Calendar Kickstarter fundraiser.
» On Oct. 13, Active Trans celebrates its 25th anniversary with a gala that will include Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Cervélo).American Bike Racing has come up with a state road race championship this Sunday near Kankakee.
Elite fields will race together but be scored separately for the 18-mile rolling course of the Two Rivers Road Race. Cat 1-4 men will race together
and go for 72 miles. The $25 registration fee will be day-of only.
Meanwhile, this weekend’s big money Tour of Elk Grove has confirmed some big teams for both the men’s and women’s fields. Among the record 125 professional men will be national criterium champion Daniel Holloway (Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth), former champion Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) and international stars like Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare), Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) and Alejandro Borrajo (Jamis Sutter Home).
For the first time in several years, Chris Horner (RadioShack) will not be in attendance. (He’s working on some post-tour issues.
The Evanston Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for Aug. 21 and slated to be on the National Racing Calendar, will instead take place Sunday, July 17, and be a part of Superweek, its home since it made its debut in 2007.
The move follows an injunction Breakaway Event Productions sought in Cook County Chancery Court against Turin Bicycle and Chris Mailing, who had organized the race in previous years and who had sought to run it independently in 2011. In its filing, Breakaway claimed Mailing had agreed to run an Evanston criterium for Superweek in 2011 and 2012.
To avoid litigation costs, Mailing said, the parties agreed to a settlement in late May that is scheduled to be finalized soon. As part of the settlement, Mailing will organize the Evanston Grand Prix as part of Superweek in 2011. Moving forward, Breakaway will own rights to the name “Evanston Grand Prix,” and starting in 2012 Mailing will be free to promote his own race in Evanston.
The July race will not be an NRC race. The August date had the potential to draw blockbuster fields, with the men’s national championship and a women’s NRC race taking place the day before in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Reached for comment, Breakaway’s Andy Garrison said: “I am glad that we were able to work things out with Chris Mailing, and we look forward to producing the Evanston Grand Prix for its fifth year.”
Rob Curtis (Psimet) has stepped up to revive the May 15 criterium in Fox River Grove, receiving village board approval last night.
Vernon Hills remains canceled, but this effort saves one of the most distinctive races on our calendar.
The race will not be part of the Illinois Cup and may not have the full range of categories, although the schedule isn’t final yet.
Curtis says if the race makes any money it will be split between Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County and the Village of Fox River Grove. “I am only doing this to save the race,” he says. “I feel and the board feels that continuity is most important.”
Hillsboro-Roubaix registration opens Tuesday at 8 a.m. Even though fees went up across all fields, I expect there will be the usual rush on Cat 5 spots for this popular road race, with the 4’s to close soon after.
Meanwhile, registration is already open for the state’s first race of the year, Spring into the Autobahn, a criterium on an auto racing track in Joliet.
Also, I’ve begun populating the CBR calendar. I hope to fill in the rest of the season soon, including more ABR races and more from our neighboring states.
The Illinois Cycling Association on Friday announced its 2011 state championships. The road race returns to the popular (if far-flung) O’Fallon Grand Prix on Saturday, June 4, while after a long run in Peoria the criterium moves to the Glencoe Grand Prix on Saturday, June 25.
Earlier this month the ICA released a preliminary lineup for the Illinois Cup. In addition to the date change for Glencoe, the Peoria Cycling Classic moves to late August, and the Sherman Park Criterium moves to early April in order to free the June 11-12 weekend for the inaugural Tour of Galena, a three-stage omnium that XXX Racing-AthletiCo is planning.
Fields have been realigned, too, reviving the 30+ 4/5’s and introducing a separate 3’s field for women. To make room for that, however, the 40+ and 50+ have been consolidated into a 45+ 1/2/3 race.
Registration is already open for the first Illinois race of the season, the South Chicago Wheelmen’s Spring into the Autobahn on Sunday, March 20. Meanwhile, ABR is starting to publish its calendar, with the traditional three-weekend series in Kenosha starting March 13.
I’ll start populating the Chicago Bike Racing calendar when I have some free time next week.
USA Cycling today released its 2011 National Racing Calendar and it features three Chicago-area events.
Returning is the Tour of Elk Grove, scheduled for Aug. 5-7. New to the NRC will be the Glencoe Grand Prix, which moves to Saturday, June 25, and the Evanston Grand Prix, which withdraws from Superweek and moves to Sunday, Aug. 21, a day after the USPRO national championships are contested in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Only Evanston will be NRC for both men and women. Glencoe and Elk Grove offer NRC points for only the men.
The USPRO criterium national championship, which in August was held in Glencoe after a long run in Downers Grove, moves to Grand Rapids, Mich., and the Grand Cycling Classic in 2011. Just as momentous a change will be restricting the field to American riders only.
Podium Insight has a full report.
The 2011 event will take place the last weekend of July, which since its inception has been home to the Tour of Elk Grove, rumored to have been one of the four races and only Chicago race to bid for the national championship. Update: USA Cycling has updated update its release to clarify that no date has been set.
Sunday’s Kenosha criterium has been canceled because of a safety situation with the planned course.
For anyone who hasn’t switched gears to cyclocross, we still have Fall Fling to look forward to. That kicks off Saturday, Sept. 25.
VeloNews reports that Dewey Dickey (Mercy-Specialized) has accepted a lifetime ban effective Sept. 1 for testing positive for EPO and for refusing a test in May, as previously reported.
He must forfeit all results and prizes back to April 2, 2007, which VeloNews says is when he first violated anti-doping rules. According to Dickey, however, he had a three-year therapeutic use exemption effective from 2006. It’s unclear how the 2007 violation squares with his TUEs.
Dickey had more than a dozen wins in the past four seasons, including a masters race at this year’s Superweek.
Update: This VeloNews story sheds a little more light on the situation.
Update: Dickey starts to admit things.
Soldier Field Cycling has scheduled its final night of racing for this Wednesday, Aug. 25. This is a make-up for the Aug. 4 cancellation, and registrations were transferred over. Online registration is open through Tuesday.
Just a reminder: This week’s Soldier Field Cycling race is Tuesday, not Wednesday. Pre-registration is open through tonight.
This is a make-up date for the rainout earlier this summer. No date has been announced to replace the Aug. 4 race, which was canceled for a presidential visit.
This week’s Soldier Field Cycling race has been canceled for unspecified reasons. As with the early rain-out, registrations will transfer to a new date, to be determined. Refunds will be issued to riders who cannot make the alternative date.
The next Soldier Field race is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 17.
Update: ABD has sprung into action and will be hosting its Wednesday evening races in West Chicago this week. Also, don’t forget that Tuesday’s racing with the South Chicago Wheelmen will be in Joliet this week. Each evening is a great way to stay sharp in a fun, collegial atmosphere.
Next month’s Glencoe Grand Prix, site of this year’s national criterium championships, have added a second Cat 5 race with a race time of 7:15 a.m. Register at BikeReg. I expect it will fill up just as quickly as the first one did. Note also the Cat 4 race is closing on capacity, too.
Glenview’s Kaleb Koch (IS Corps) earned his first national championship Thursday by winning the 15-16 match sprint in Trexlertown, Pa.
Koch was the top qualifier with an 11.6-second 200, then proceeded to win each of his sprints.
“I couldn’t have done it without all the support that I have received this year from everyone,” he said. “Jon Fraley (WDT-Allvoi) and Tony Ruffalo really made all of this possible. If it wasn’t for their training help, I would not have had the speed out there that I had today.”
Meanwhile, Koch’s teammate Chazz Martin earned the silver in the 17-18 kilo.
Racing continues through the weekend.
Update: John Tomlinson (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) on Friday earned his second national championship, this time in the 17-18 points race. In 2009 he won the 17-18 scratch race.
Tomlinson said that after being off the front and picking up some points early and “after a ton of Mach-speed accelerations from some fast guys,” he and Daniel Farinha (SJBC) escaped with about 20 laps to go. They traded sprints and lapped the field with about five to go. “I had no idea if I had won,” Tomlinson said, “but I knew I was podium since only two of us lapped. Turned out I was three points up on my breakmate.”
Tomlinson still has the scratch to look forward to. If he does well, he could earn a spot on the national team that will compete at the world championships in Italy.
Because of severe weather forecast, tonight’s Soldier Field Cycling Series races are canceled. Stay tuned for makeup information, if any.
The Glencoe Grand Prix, site of this year’s men’s national criterium championships, opens registration for the amateur races at 8 a.m. Monday.
This will be one the summer’s premier events in Chicago. There is only one Cat 5 race, so I expect it will sell out quickly, if not within a few hours. I wouldn’t wait to the last minute to register for the 4’s, either.
Superweek has updated its 2010 schedule and filled in the remaining gaps.
The first Saturday and Sunday will be criteriums near Chicago, in Geneva and Homewood on July 10 and 11, respectively.
Tuesday, July 13, previously scheduled as a criterium in either Palatine, Ill., or Hales Corner, Wis., will now be a road race in Willow Springs. No details are online yet, but Soldier Field Cycling Tweets that the 3.8-loop will be a triangle covering the hilly portion of last year’s state road race: from Archer down Willow Springs Road to 95th Street, then a fast, sweeping descent back onto Archer. “Epic” may be a lot to ask for, but it will no doubt make the legs burn after a dozen or more circuits.
The Aug. 14 Glencoe Grand Prix
It’s a technical, 10-turn, 1.3-mile circuit, completely different from previous editions. Roads look smooth though narrow in spots, judging from the provided video. It’s mostly flat, save for a 30-foot descent and kicker on the back side.
Unlike the former championship of Downers Grove, the finish from the final corner is flat, but just as short, a little less than 200 meters. With the start/finish in the same spot as previous Glencoe Grands Prix, albeit moving clockwise instead of counter, the final turn at the corner that used to be Turn 1, at Vernon and Park. An elite rider who’s ridden it tells me not to expect anyone to make a pass, so just like Downers, it may turn into a race to the final corner. (We all remember how that sometimes works out.)
The lineup and preliminary purses:
Juniors 10-14: 25 minutes + 1
Juniors 15-18: 25 + 1
Cat 5: 35 + 1
Women 3/4: 30 + 1, $750
45+ 1/2/3/4: 50 + 1, $1,000
Cat 4: 45 minutes + 1, $750
30+ 1/2/3/4: 50 + 1, $1,000
Cat 3: 50 + 2, $1,000
Cat 1/2: 60+2, $5,000 plus jersey
Women P/1/2: 55 + 2, $7,500 plus jersey
Men’s pro national championship: 100km, $15,000 plus jersey
Registration will open on BikeReg June 14. With only one Cat 5 field, I expect that will sell out immediately. Cat 4’s should not dally, either.
In other news, registration is open for the popular Wednesday night Soldier Field Cycling Series: June 23, July 14 and Aug. 4. Each evening includes two juniors fields, a women’s race, two for the 4/5’s and a 60-minute P/1/23 race.
» Tonight is the Ride of Silence to remember those injured or killed in traffic.
» Tonight is also the last scheduled night of racing in West Chicago. ABD reports that if enough people turnout, the series will be extended.
» Velo City hits the Kenosha velodrome Saturday. Winners are eligible for round-trip airfare to Guatemala for the Cycle Messenger World Championships.
» Northbrook Garner Bicycle Club is organizing Wednesday night track sessions for juniors, starting June 16.
» The Chicago Cyclocross Cup has announced a preliminary 2010 schedule. And I have it on good authority that XXX Racing-AthletiCo is planning an extra event in Jackson Park on Aug. 29.
» One of the lovelier ride invitations you’ll ever receive.
» Samantha Schneider (Tibco) visited Glencoe South this week.
» Registration recently opened for the June 6 Wonder Lake Lakeside Criterium and the June 19 Cobb Park Criterium.
» Anti-bike terrorists strike in Maryland.Veteran racer and recent ABD rider Josh Carter (Hotel San Jose) won the Division I criterium in Madison on Saturday, earning himself a national championship on behalf of Midwestern State.
A late break was not caught until the final lap. USA Cycling reported that Carter, a recent transplant to Texas and an accomplished sprinter, carried a large gap from the final corner to take the win.
Julio Jacobo (PYOC) finished 19th, riding for the University of Wisconsin.
Northwestern’s Will Nowak (Verizon u25), who appeared in Friday’s Sun-Times, was off the front for a good portion of Friday’s road race, but he did not finish. He may have been one of the many riders to succumb to a flat on the cold, wet Blue Mounds course.
ABD this week starts a series of Wednesday night training criteriums in West Chicago, using a loop last used for October’s Fall Fling. To add to the fun and keep riders on their toes, some of the races may employ some track formats, such as points races and unknown-distance races. Like Matteson, this looks like a good opportunity to hone skills and ride at race intensity.
Also starting Wednesday is the Women’s Cycling Series, a series of clinics hosted by Alberto’s.
Finally, the popular Soldier Field Cycling series appears close to announcing the 2010 schedule, which I understand will return to the same location but with fewer dates this summer.
Thanks to some cancellations, there are currently 8 spots available in the 4’s for Hillsboro-Roubaix. Registration will stay open until 9 p.m. tonight.
Hillsboro-Roubaix registration closes tonight at 9 p.m. The P/1/2 field recently filled, and the 3’s field has only 25 spots left. Organizers are asking to be notified of rider cancellations so that wait lists can be attended to beforehand. Refunds will be given.
Full preview to come.
Mail-in registration for the popular Snake Alley Criterium is open.
The fabled Snake Alley is like a cyclocross race, where a good race hinges on a good start, and a good start hinges on a good starting position, and a good starting position hinges on an early registration. So go find a stamp and get your registration in now.
Here’s coverage of the 2009 edition.
Registration for the Leland Kermesse, a road race with ambitions to join Hillsboro-Roubaix as an Illinois spring classic, opened today and it looks like the 46-mile 5’s race will fill up soon.
Update: The 5’s filled by late afternoon. Congrats to Eric Christ (Bicycle Heaven) for nabbing DFL.
The 4’s are capped at 100. With 34 45 registered so far, that field may reach capacity, too.
USA Cycling announced today that its national criterium championship, previously a fixture in Downers Grove, will move to Glencoe in 2010.
Downers Grove has hosted the national championships on a popular figure-eight course since 1991, but the race’s demise has been speculated ever since the village council pulled $37,000 in funding in December.
Special Events Management will continue to manage the race, set for Saturday, Aug. 14.
This is a major coup for promoter Jon Knouse and his Glencoe Grand Prix, which in only three years has built a reputation for a well-run and well-funded operation.
“Once I saw Downers Grove decided not to renew,” Knouse said, “I called (ICA president and SEM event manageer) Steve Hansen and said: ‘We can help you. At least for this year, I know we can offer a great alternative and on short notice.’ SEM agreed, and we approached USA Cycling and they agreed.”
I’m looking to confirm details, but I’m told that the course will be altered
and racing will be limited to one day, meaning less amateur racing and no more twilight pro-am.
“This was really a lightning-in-the-bottle scenario,” Knouse said, “and we are totally grateful to SEM management and USA Cycling for having faith in us. We plan to deliver in spades.”
USA Cycling had previously announced the relocation of women’s and men’s elite national championships, which this year will take place in Bend, Ore., but Knouse says the Glencoe schedule will include a 1/2 race and a “big women’s pro race.”
Also of note: ABD this week announced that the Winfiled criterium weekend
is returning to August on Aug. 21-22. That makes two consecutive weekends of big racing, and it means Winfield no longer conflicts with the popular Spring Prairie Road Race in Wisconsin.
Have your credit cards handy: Hillsboro-Roubaix and Spring Super Criterium registration opens in less than 30 minutes.
With local race support in jeopardy elsewhere, it’s more important than ever to be good guests wherever we race. When you register for Hillsboro-Roubaix, consider a small donation to the Montgomery County Cancer Association, which will be providing much-needed marshaling on the sprawling course. Also to note this year: Hillsboro’s Orpheum Theatre will be showing the classic documenary “A Sunday in Hell” Friday night. Popcorn and soda are included in the $7 ticket. Sounds like a more enjoyable way to pass the evening than hanging out at the Litchfield Ruby Tuesday.
Update: It’s 8:08 a.m. and the Cat 5’s have filled. Congrats to masters cyclocross state champion Eric Sondag (Pony Shop) for being the last to slide in.
Update: It’s 8:48 a.m. and the 4’s are 80 percent full.
Update: It’s 10:15 a.m. and that’s that for the 4’s. Daniel Pollard (Spider Monkey Cycling) was DFL.
The 3’s field is almost half full. I expect it to approach capacity by race day.
Wait lists are available, and older punishment gluttons can throw in their lot with the open-category masters slugfests.
Keep in mind also that the Leland Kermesse takes place the following Saturday. This should provide a similar quasi-classic experience and is closer to the city. Plus, it’s USAC this year. (I do not know whether online registration will be an option.)
Tour of America’s Dairyland today released its 2010 schedule.
As had been rumored, the series does not return to the Blue Mounds course that last year tested the limits of the word “epic.” There will be only two road races, with the Greenbush course featuring a significant climb at the end of each lap. The rest of the series will be criteriums, including the popular Downer Avenue course in Milwaukee and starting with a Thursday elite-only criterium in Shorewood, Wis.
No word yet on fields or prizes.
Is it too early to start thinking about Hillsboro-Roubaix?
No, of course not.
Former race director Rich Pierce (ICCC) reports at StLBiking that in the interest of safety, the 2010 edition of our spring classic may be longer, taking a 29-mile route that eliminates a challenging climb but provides safer turns. Fields overtaking one another was an issue in 2009, and this may help with that, too.
Compare with the traditional 22-mile route.
Pierce writes that he expects P/1/2’s to do three laps, the 3’s two. The challenge of a 29-mile course is what to do for the 4’s: 29 miles is too short, 58 miles too long. Half-laps could be an elegant solution, but a potential logistical nightmare.
The same thread cites Saturday, April 10, as the 2010 date.
Excellent news from up north: The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board has renewed its title sponsorship of the Tour of America’s Dairyland, the 11-day series that made its debut this year as an expansion of the Midwest Cycling Series. No information on schedule or venues, but the series is tentatively slated for another 11-day run, June 17-27.
USA Cycling today released the 2010 National Racing Calendar, including spots for the Chicago Criterium and the Tour of Elk Grove, July 25 and July 30-Aug. 1, respectively.
For those of us who assumed the Chicago Criterium would go the way of our Olympic bid, this is promising news.
Neither event, however, is included on the women’s NRC.
Also nearby will be the Marion Classic in Marion, Ind., and the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich., both of which move from August to early July.
For one week only, South Chicago Wheelmen’s Tuesday night races this week will take place in Joliet at the Autobahn Country Club, a 1.5-mile, 9-turn course similar to the race track used at the Spring Super Criterium. As usual racing will start at 6 p.m., but entry fees will be $23 to cover rent and insurance.
It’s official: We have a state road race championship.
Last year’s host Tower Racing steps up again, this time securing a course in beautiful Willow Springs, not far from the city. It’s a popular training route, and surely I am not the only one who has fantasized of racing there. It’s not Ventoux, but it’s about as good as it gets within 30 minutes of State and Madison.
The Sept. 12 race comes late in the season, but the upside is that the delay came because of a paving project on 104th Avenue, meaning pristine tarmac. I rode the course this weekend. It’s exquisite. Some imperfections remain, but Tower tells me they will be patched in the next two weeks.
The triangular course resembles an M.C. Escher drawing, seemingly rising via false flat on all three sides. Traffic will be closed in both directions on 104th avenue between Archer and 95th Street, closed in one direction the rest of the way. The start/finish will be at the crest of 104th, north of 95th. Parking and registration will be at the Willowbrook Ballroom on Archer.
The most severe pitches come on 104th, turning right off of Archer. From the base there are three stair-step climbs, totaling just under a mile. For most of us it should be a big-ring, 2- to 3-minute effort.
The first part of the climb is the steepest but shortest. The final, pivotal stair step is .3 mile. At the top will be the start/finish, which should lead to some dramatic sprints, and I expect there will be fireworks every trip up this stretch.
Update: Tower Racing has published a technical guide. It’s worth a look. One interesting passage is a budget summary. Including a donation to World Bicycle Relief, Tower estimates per-rider expenses to be $43.88
which makes the $35 entry fee look like a bargain indeed. (Note the $10 fee for day-of registration. Note it and pre-reg instead.)
As many race promoters have found, sponsorship is tight this year, so there will be no primes. However, Tony Cacchillo (Tower Racing) tells me that once again a Ferrari or Lamborghini will pace some fields.
To accommodate demand from the lower categories, Soldier Field Cycling is adding a second 4/5’s race for its remaining Wednesdays, effective July 29.
The 30-minute races will go off at 6:50 and 7:25 p.m.
This should be a good thing: More riders will get a chance to race, and with smaller fields the races will be safer.
Soldier Field Cycling is combining its women’s races starting tomorrow. P/1/2/3’s and 4’s will race together at 6 p.m. but will be scored separately.
Also, Chicago 2016 will have a booth this week, including two-time Olympian John Vande Velde.
Because of competing events and other factors, masters track state championships, originally scheduled for tomorrow, have been postponed to Saturday, Aug. 8.
Because of low pre-registration, the Tour de Champaign is canceling its juniors races this weekend. However, it is adding a Sunday Cat 5 race to the schedule. Here is the updated flier. Cat 5’s can register on-site with no late fees.
Here’s a late-breaking crit that escaped my radar: Village CycleSport and Redline Racing host the Wood Dale Criterium, ABR’s state criterium championships, on Sunday, July 5, at the same industrial park as ABD’s Memorial Day weekend masters crits. (I’m not sure which loop will be employed.)
It comes on the heels of sad news for Village CyclesSport: Elk Grove store manager Jason Eberhardt died Saturday in an accident while repairing a car. He was 28.
The Tour of America’s Dairyland announced today that it is adding a third road race, on Thursday, June 18. The Blue Mounds Race to the Future will take place on a 22-mile loop that has been proposed for the 2016 Olympics. This has some serious climbing, including what appears to be a three-mile slog that climbs about 750 feet at the end of each lap, with an average 8 percent pitch in the last mile.
Today’s announcement also included news that the Trek-Livestrong U23 team will be participating in the series.
Chicago Criterium registration will open tomorrow. The inaugural race was a hit last year, and I expect both 5’s fields (50 riders each) and the masters 4/5’s (capped at 75) to fill quickly.
Update: I notice that the registration allows you to enter both Cat 5 heats. I discourage people from doing this. The intent of the second heat is to allow more people to race. Don’t hog the spots.
There also is confusion about the masters categories. I’m fairly certain it’s 35+, not 30+, but am working on getting confirmation. They are indeed 35+, not 30+.
It was not long ago that you could count the number of races within Chicago city limits on one hand and still have fingers left to shift.
This year is much different. We still have the old favorites of Monsters on the Midway, Sherman Park and the Beverly Hills Classic, but we now also have the Chicago Criterium to look forward to, and Half Acre kicked off the season with five practice criteriums in March.
And starting June 17, we’ll have six biweekly Wednesday night criteriums held in the shadow of Soldier Field, bringing our total number of road races to 15.
The Soldier Field Cycling Web site made quite a splash when it leaked last week and again when it officially launched Tuesday, but many of us still had questions. To get some answers, I found Joe Gaspar of Spanglish Ideas.
How did the event come to be?
We have a great relationship with the folks that run Soldier Field. We’ve worked closely with them on several projects over the years. The idea for the series was floated at a meeting with them last year and it was met with great enthusiasm by the Soldier Field management.
Soldier Field is best known as the home of the Chicago Bears, but the rest of the year they’re looking for interesting ways to utilize their facilities. They liked the idea of a family-friendly event and the opportunity to bring competitive cycling to a new audience. We can’t say enough about the support that we have received from them.
How involved was the city?
Soldier Field is owned by the Chicago Park District, without them, there is no series. We are also in conversations with different agencies within the city and several advocacy groups.
The biggest question people are asking: Who ARE you guys?
We are an event and marketing company called Spanglish Ideas. A lot of our work has involved soccer-related properties, specifically on the production and marketing side. Cycling is something we’ve always wanted to tackle, and finally the timing was right.
What is your racing background?
First and foremost, we are fans of the sport of cycling, at both the competitive and recreational levels. Some of us have raced, others have only commuted, but we all understand the joy of the bicycle. We also understand that there is a need to grow the sport at the competitive level and that to do so, we need to start by making it more accessible. It has to be easier for kids to get on a bike and go fast and we hope that we can give them a venue to show there stuff. It’s also important that we provide an opportunity for those that are already involved in the sport to practice and develop their skills in a fun, safe and convenient manner.
How long is the course?
The course is a 1 kilometer loop in the South Lot of Soldier Field. It’s the lot where all the Chicago Bears tailgating action takes place.
Word leaked out last week, but now its Web site is out for good: Soldier Field Cycling will be a Wednesday evening series of sanctioned races in a Soldier Field parking lot. Think Matteson, but closer and with separate fields for women and juniors.
And that’s about all I know. Am chasing more info and will post again when I have it.
Superweek organizers announced Friday that Milwaukee’s lakefront courses will return this summer.
These courses were last used in 2005 but have been unavailable for construction. A 4.2 mile circuit will be contested on Wednesday, July 22, and the lower categories will race a shorter version on Thursday, July 16.
I remember these being very fun, spectator-friendly courses, including steep kickers and gorgeous views of Milwaukee’s lakefront.
The Tour de Champaign, which we learned about in January, has released its flier for the July 11-12 criteriums. Registration is available at Truesport: Saturday, Sunday.
Wisconsin’s Tour of America’s Dairyland has opened registration for this year’s inaugural series.
We’re getting seven criteriums, two road races and a rest day on the Monday. Registering for the entire series saves you about $30.
The road races look interesting: Fond du Lac’s 10.3-mile route has lots of short kickers, and near Greenbush there will be a hilly 9.8-mile course through the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Other highlights include a circuit in Waterloo, the popular Giro de Grafton twilight criterium and Milwaukee’s Downer Avenue course that is always a hit at Superweek.
Masters races start at 35+. Unfortunately there are no races for juniors or women 4’s.
Because of weather, Sunday’s Greg Bednorski Memorial Criterium in Madison, Wis., has been canceled. The Great Dane Velo Club says it will now put on crits on Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19.
The John Fraser Memorial Time Trial has been postponed, too, tentatively rescheduled for May 2.
Once again, the same dreaded prescription as last week: Enjoy your trainer time.
Chicago’s loss is Europe’s gain this spring. The U.S. Cycling Development Program has selected two-time national champion Devon Haskell (Team BH USA) to take part in a European tour. Her first race was Sunday’s Dolmans Classic in Holland, where she finished 37th with the main chase group. Along the way she topped many climbs steep enough to have names ending with -berg.
Haskell will be spending her weeks training in a small town near Toulouse in Southern France. On weekends she’ll race with other American women in France and Holland, continuing this weekend with the Tour of Burgundy and culminating in the Grand Prix d’Amancey on May 10.
Follow her progress at the Team BH USA blog.
Construction at the paint factory will delay the start of the 2009 Matteson season, which had been scheduled to kick off Tuesday, April 7. Steve Feehery (South Chicago Wheelmen) says it should be just a week or two longer. Keep an eye on the SCW site for current information.
Registration for the 2009 Snake Alley Criterium is open. This is one of the most exciting and fun events in the country. Imagine the thrills, intensity and novelty of Hillsboro-Roubaix compressed into 1 mile and 30 minutes. Plus, more cowbell.
As far as I know, registration is mail-in only.
Here’s coverage of 2008’s edition. More than any other race, success at Snake Alley hinges on start position, which here is determined in a civilized manner via registration order rather than the traditional guile and pushiness. This is the race before the race, and if your entry form isn’t in the mail by the end of today, you put your start in peril.
Because of a weather forecast that includes prodigious amounts of suck, organizers have canceled Sunday’s final entry in the Kenosha Velosport Criterium Series. Enjoy your time on the trainer.
Half Acre Cycling is celebrating a successful week of racing in Calumet Park
