The best racers from past Tours of Elk Grove are all back this year

What's new this year with the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove?

If you ask Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson not much has changed with the bicycle race, now in its fifth year.

And that's perhaps the best indication that the USA Cycling-sanctioned event continues to be a success amid a climate where popular races like the Chicago Criterium and Tour of Missouri have been canceled.

The three-day Tour of Elk Grove kicks off today (Friday) with a 4.5-mile Men's Pro Race time trial, and continues Saturday with the second leg - a 150K (93 mile) road race on the streets of Elk Grove Village starting at 4 p.m. The final stage of the Tour - a 110K (68.2 mile) criterium race held in a closed circuit loop - begins at 3 p.m. Sunday.

More than 1,000 cyclists compete in the Tour, which is on USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar. It features 15 races for professional and amateur cyclists and a total prize purse of $150,000.

"A lot of big races have fallen by the wayside," Johnson said. "Bike racing is going through tough times as every sport is this year because of the economy."

The USA Cycling Professional Tour shrank to seven events after the cancellation of the inaugural Tour de New York - a proposed five-day race that was unable to secure sufficient funding, according to USA Cycling's website.

Locally, budget constraints also forced the Downers Grove village board to pull $37,000 in funding from USA Cycling's national criterium championship, which had been held in town since 1991. The race moves to Glencoe on Aug. 14.

Johnson said Elk Grove Village has managed to hold its own and has seen tremendous support from sponsors despite the economy.

"And that's why it's important for our event to go on because there's less events out there nowadays for riders," Johnson said.

Fewer national races may explain why all four previous Tour of Elk Grove winners are competing in this year's Men's 3-day, 3-stage Pro Race, which boasts the largest purse ($120,000) for a professional North American race.

"We've got all four defending champions returning, which is really I think cool for us," Johnson said. "It just happened for the first time we were able to get all of them back. It should be exciting."

Among the more than 100 professional riders competing is Australian Hilton Clarke, who won the very first Tour of Elk Grove in 2006, and is part of Team United Health Care this year.

American Mike Friedman, the 2007 overall champion, will compete with Team Jelly Belly; Canadian David Veilleux, the 2008 overall winner, will again compete with Team Kelly Benefits; and Australian Karl Menzies, the 2009 champion, will join Clarke on Team United Health Care.

"They know it's a quality event and they want to make sure that it continues on," Johnson said. "We really do a first-class operation here, and the riders, and teams and fans enjoy that. The community really embraces it."

Asked if any of the four previous champs is favored to win this year's race, Johnson said his money is actually on Chris Horner, a 38-year-old bicycle racer from Oregon competing for the fifth time in Elk Grove.

Horner could be a sentimental choice: He has been a friend and adviser to Johnson, helping develop the Tour into what it is today.

"He has really become kind of almost like a consultant in a lot of ways to the race," Johnson said. "He has really become like a good will ambassador for the Tour of Elk Grove."

Horner is coming off a phenomenal overall 10th place finish in the Tour de France, making him the highest American finisher placing above seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Horner finished fourth in this year's Tour of California and took first place in the 2010 Tour of the Basque Country.

"I got a feeling he's (Horner) going to be the one to beat this year," Johnson said. "I would be willing to make friendly wagers with anyone that Chris is going to do well on this tour. He absolutely loves our event and he comes every year."

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<h1>More Coverage</h1>

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<h2>Related links</h2>

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<li><a href="http://www.tourofelkgrove.com/results_photos.cfm" target="new">Tour of Elk Grove results</a></li>

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<h2>Stories</h2>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=397370">Breaking down the Tour of Elk Grove road course<span class="date"> [7/29/10]</span></a></li>

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