Cyclists hope Winfield Criterium draws attention to sport

Lance Armstrong's success has made the sport of men's cycling a bit more mainstream in the United States than in the past. If Jessica Prinner has her way, her success will do the same for women's cycling.

Just days after competing in the junior world championships with USA Cycling in Italy, Prinner was closer to home Sunday as she competed for the Athletes By Design Cycling Club in the 11th Annual Winfield Criterium, a one-mile street race in downtown Winfield. Prinner won her heat, and the success is nothing new. In her first year as a cyclist as a 12-year-old, she finished second in national time trials in Utah.

However, the lack of attention on the women's game has Prinner a bit concerned.

"Just for me as a racer, it's disconcerting that nobody knows about the sport," the 17-year-old Streamwood High School students said Sunday. "Even if I get to the top, nobody is going to know about it."

Prinner said one of her major goals is to increase her sport's awareness, which she says suffers in popularity compared to the men's side of things.

"There are always less opportunities there for women than there are for men," she said. "I want to get more women out there."

Prinner fell in love with the sport when she watched the Tour de France at the age of 12. When she saw the scenery and the competition, she gave it a shot and found she had a knack for cycling.

One of the event's organizers, Winfield resident Mike Ebert, said cycling's popularity seems to come and go and the women's side is no different.

"It comes in and out of fashion but it's building up a little," he said.

Ebert grew up on the streets that the racers called their course during the two-day event. He said that connection made the race more emotional for him and was one of the reasons they approached area organizations when they started the race in 1999.

"It's awesome," he said. "It's really special to me. The support is everything. The residents, they get behind the event every year."

With residents lining the street near the start/finish line, racers took to the course, which includes a long and steep hill that Prinner called a "leg grinder."

Skokie resident Carol Winston was in town to cheer on her husband. She said the format of criterium racing is exciting, with racers speeding past constantly.

"In a longer road race, you might see them once," she said. "With this, you can pretty much tell how they are feeling."