Suburbs stage another first-class event
If the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove proved anything last weekend, it's that the bicycle race is fast becoming one of the jewels of suburban events.
In only its fifth year, the three-day race through the streets of the village is quickly taking its place alongside the venerable Arlington Million, longtime community festivals such as Naperville's Rib Fest and a host of other must-see annual events that make our suburbs a unique place to live, work and play.
What may be most impressive about the Tour is its relative meteoric rise from birth to its place in the sport of competitive cycling in half a decade.
Over the weekend, the Tour again attracted large crowds of spectators and top racers locally and from around the world, including a pro field of up to 200 riders and $5,000 bicycles featuring fancy aerodynamic wheels.
Competitors had nothing but praise for the course and the event as a whole.
"This is easily the best-organized race I've been in," said Dave Kiel of Arlington Heights, who doubled up to win the first two men's events on Saturday.
"It's a beautiful course," said Phil Collin of Golf, who led the men's heat for a while Saturday. "This boulevard's really pretty."
And the three-stage race was challenging.
Last week, the Daily Herald's night news editor, Neil Holdway, and photographer Paul Michna, who has actual racing experience at this level, previewed the road stage of the course that requires not only speed but technical skill.
The course has turns - lots of them. They counted a whopping 250 turns, including one measuring 180 degrees.
In all, 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.
Just as impressive is that the USA Cycling-sanctioned event continues to be a success amid a climate in which other popular races such as the Chicago Criterium and Tour of Missouri have been canceled.
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.
Meanwhile, Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said the Tour has managed to hold its own and has seen tremendous support from sponsors despite the economy.
That's no small accomplishment when you consider all the competition for time and dollars spent on the dozens of events each weekend in the city of Chicago and throughout the suburbs.
Congratulations to Tour organizers, sponsors and competitors on another successful event the suburbs calls one of its own.