Wisconsin governor to discuss Chicago Olympic bid
MILWAUKEE -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's plan to discuss Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics could mean some cycling events are coming to the state.
Doyle and officials from Chicago's 2016 bid will talk about plans involving the city of Madison and the surrounding area on Friday. It's expected they'll name an area near Mount Horeb and Blue Mound State Park for the potential road race and individual time trial.
The state is also being strongly considered for mountain bike races and could play a role in housing athletes.
Former Olympian Tom Schuler met with Chicago 2016 officials about a year ago about a different course in Wisconsin, but says the state holds an advantage because its courses are good enough to receive the endorsement of the International Cycling Union.
"With the endorsement of every sport's governing body, the chance of Chicago getting the Olympics goes up," Schuler said. "It really reinforces that Wisconsin is a leader in a lot of categories that involve bicycling."
The Blue Mound area considered for the road race is about 25 miles west of Madison and already features one of the toughest races in the Midwest -- the Horribly Hilly Hundreds, a 124.2-mile trek that includes a 910-foot final climb and 10,700 feet in elevation gain on the up and down route.
David Vogt, deputy director of The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, said the area is perfect for road races because greater Chicago lacks major hills.
"You simply cannot have a major road race on a course that is completely flat," Vogt said. "The grade, the elevation changes are very essential to that.
"They'd need a course that has some pretty significant elevation changes. You go out in some of the areas around Blue Mound, and there are some substantial climbs out there that are very unusual in the Midwest."
The site under consideration for the mountain bike events is Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest's off-road area near Whitewater, about 40 miles east of Madison.
"We're fortunate to have a lot of really nice off-road courses in the state," said Perry Oksiuta, owner of the Racine Cyclery, which has been a family business since 1956. "Kettle Moraine is noted as a premier spot."
A spokeswoman for Doyle declined comment, while a spokeswoman for the Olympic bid effort did not return a message. Chicago is competing with Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games, to be selected by the International Olympic Committee on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark.