Some of the most talented cyclists in the world will be descending on Madison in 2013 when the city hosts one of the largest bicycle racing competitions in the nation.
Madison was recently selected to host the 2013 and 2014 Elite, U23, Juniors and Paralympic Cycling National Championships, according to a statement released by USA Cycling last Friday.
USA Cycling has not determined the dates of the events yet, but they will be held in either late June or early July of both years, according to Micah Rice, managing director of national events for USA Cycling.
The championships will take place over the course of a weekend, with different skill levels competing in a range of events.
“We have at least 15 races that weekend. Race distance ranges anywhere from 6-8 miles for the juniors races, to the elite group, which races up to 100 miles,” Rice said.
Madison presented a bid to a USA Cycling selections committee and competed against many other cities across the nation. The final decision came down to Madison or Gainesville, Fla., according to Rice.
This is not the first such event held in Madison, according to Judy Frankel, spokesperson for the Madison Area Sports Commission.
“We’ve been home to a number of premiere cycling events in the past. For the last two years, we’ve hosted the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships, and we’re hosting the Cyclo-cross National Championships here in January of 2012,” Frankel said.
She said the Madison area has become world-renowned for its challenging cycling courses. The cycling portion of the Madison Iron Man Triathlon is known especially for its difficulty, Frankel said.
The Blue Mound road course that will be used in some of the championship races is the same as the course proposed for the 2012 Summer Olympics and would have been used in the games had Chicago won its bid to host them, Rice said.
Frankel said Madison’s history of hosting challenging cycling events made it a desirable location for the championships. She said she believes this is what secured the nomination over competing cities.
“Our prior experience played into their decision to host this kind of race here. Because we’ve had so many other national cycling championships in town, we already have the infrastructure and know-how in place to host and execute these championships,” she said.
Rice added that the quality of the roads, the friendly urban atmosphere and bike-friendly policies of Madison played into their decision.
In years past, the championships have been hosted in Bend, Ore., Cincinnati, Ohio and the Los Angeles area. This year and next year, they will be held in Augusta, Ga., Rice said.
The USA Cycling committee announces the championships’ host city a couple years in advance. It also hopes that each city will host the events for back-to-back years to allow for better planning and to build excitement in the community, Rice said.
The excitement is shared by the Madison Area Sports Commission, Frankel said. Frankel added this is the biggest cycling event yet to take place in Madison.
“It will be a fun, family-friendly outdoor event. It is actually really inspiring to watch. Madison is a certified platinum bike-friendly town. These events feed well into our [city’s] personality,” she said.
