Superior Ambulance Elmhurst Cycling Classic Returns for the Fourth Year
The Fourth Annual Superior Ambulance Elmhurst Cycling Classic is coming! This exciting day and night of amateur and professional bike racing around Elmhurst College and at Wilder Park is scheduled for Friday, July 22, 2016.
The Elmhurst Cycling Classic is part of the Intelligentsia Cup, a "tour" of bike races in cities around Chicagoland, similar to the Tour de France, which moves in stages from town to town. Elmhurst is Day 7 of this nine-day professional road tour.
Race organizers are once again planning a day-into-night format - after work and after dark - with the professional men finishing under the stars at 9:45pm. Last year's pro race was an all-out, spectacular sprint that thrilled the crowds from the starting gun all the way through to the final straightaway!
The 2016 event will start at 11am with the Junior's category, which can include licensed racers as young as 9 years old.
"The success of the 2015 Elmhurst Cycling Classic proved the appeal and thrill of nighttime racing." said Race Director Tim Radcliff. "This year's schedule shifts even more high-speed action after work hours, with the professional men once again racing the course under the stars. Elmhurst is one of only a small number of venues nationwide that can and do host true twilight racing - the most exciting and well-attended type of cycling event in the country. The community and racers really love it."
Spectators will enjoy some seriously fast bike racing by top-tier professional riders from around the nation and overseas - but they can also have a blast and BE PART OF THE ACTION in the Olympia Chiropractic Family Fun Bike Parade.
The community's enthusiasm for hitting the course with the pros during this portion of the Elmhurst Cycling Classic has delivered some of the best photo moments of the event, inspiring ECC race organizers to ratchet up the fun! This year, participants can decorate their bikes - or decorate themselves - and possibly win on-the-spot prizes for the best decorated bikes/riders!
Ride as you are, invent your own theme, or borrow one of the theme ideas suggested by race organizers - including Girly Bikes, Bike Commuting, Patriotic Bikes, Bicycles Built for Multiples, The European Market-Day Bike, Super Hero/Villain Bikes, The Getaway Bike, Fashonistas on Wheels, A Strider Bike Brigade, The Organic Noisemaker, Your Favorite Movie Bike, Disney Bikes, The Retro/Vintage Bike, The Pirate Bike, an Erin Go Bragh Bike - it's all good!
Pre-registration is FREE at Olympia Chiropractic at 533 S York Road Suite D. All pre-registered riders are entered into a raffle to win a $200 Power+ 530CFM blower from EGO! Day-of registrations is $5.
"Last year's Family Fun Ride was hugely popular, with over 200 riders. We thought we'd add a fresh twist by reintroducing it as the Family Fun Bike Parade," said Co-Race Director Kevin York. "Our goal is to keep all the Family Fun, and add an opportunity for participants and spectators alike to enjoy creativity - and utility - with bikes. We're anticipating a big response!"
Lucky spectators will be able to see a demonstration of truly vintage bikes by Carey Williams of The Wheelmen, a national vintage bike preservation organization, before and during the Family Fun Bike Parade.
Proceeds from the Elmhurst Cycling Classic are widely distributed to area charities. The event has succeeded in donating nearly $35,000 to date. Past beneficiaries have included Family Shelter Service, People's Resource Center, United Community Concerns, Yorkfield Food Pantry, Elmhurst Children's Assistance Foundation, Elmhurst Walk-In Assistance Network (formerly Elmhurst Walk-In Ministry), District 205 Foundation, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation, and many more.
The Elmhurst Cycling Classic is the primary fundraiser of the DuPage Cycling Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Visit www.elmbike.com for all the details of the day, including the Family Fun Bike Parade, or email info@dupagecyclingfoundation.org with questions.