The races will be longer, the weather will be hotter and the racing will be faster and more breakneck than ever. Superweek is here. Are you ready?

This year’s 17-day, 19-venue series has several new courses (which have yet to be revealed) and I don’t have experience with all the old ones, but here’s what I know:

Beverly (Friday, July 11)
Opening night is P/1/2-only, but all cycling fans should pay a visit to one of Chicago’s more charming neighborhoods and take in this doozy of a course, perhaps the jewel of the Superweek portfolio. A steep hill at Turn 1 takes its toll on riders, and a screaming downhill turn sends racers down the homestretch at a frantic pace. The atmosphere is electric and the sprints are wild.

Evanston (Sunday, July 20)
Beware the BK Stacker! Gorgeous weather and solid organization made this a racer- and fan-favorite in its 2007 debut, but lower categories had more than a few troubles getting past the Burger King at Turn 5, where an optical illusion makes the turn look wider than it actually is. Avoid the outside line on the early laps until your pack gets the hang of it. Turn 6 also narrows before spitting out into the wide finishing stretch of Sherman Avenue. Lower categories should count on bottlenecks at both corners and be prepared to accelerate out of them. Stick to the front or you’ll be sapped by the accordion affect.

Holy Hill (Monday, July 21)
Disputes with local authorities have taken away the popular Alpine Valley and Proving Grounds courses, making Holy Hill our only true road race. There are a few uphill kickers, but nothing that will afford climbers much advantage. (Sigh.) Last year the biggest challenge was getting through a dodgy mile of chip seal. Hopefully a year is enough time for it to have settled into a smooth surface. Give yourself time to scout out the uphill finish, as it’s a stretch of road that’s not covered on the rollout or the 8.1 mile course.

Whitnall Park (Wednesday, July 23)
This is a gorgeous course. It’s in the same botanical garden as April’s Whitnall Park Criterium, but the course is longer (2.3 miles) and in the opposite direction. Nominally it is a road race, but it’s a closed course and feels more like a crit. The finish is uphill following a sharp left turn, and the line will come at you sooner than you think. The winner will make this turn no farther back than 10th, and a good leadout will deposit its rider at the hill’s base. Late-race fliers have worked here, too.

Downer Avenue (Saturday, July 26)
Lower categories don’t always get a chance to race this course, so this year should be special. And if the racing doesn’t work out, there will be a Belgian beer festival in which to drown sorrows. This is a nice bookend to the fan-friendly Beverly as tens of thousands of spectators will line up along this technical, triangular course in Milwaukee.

I’ll be busy racing but will provide highlight reports as best I can. I’ll also be aggregating all the race reports that I can. If there’s a blog or report archive I should know about, including out-of-town guests, let me know.