Press Releases

Madison will be host to several Olympic cycling events if Chicago is chosen to host the 2016 summer games, officials announced Friday.

Two events would be based directly out of Madison — the cycling time trials would take place entirely within downtown, and the road race would begin on the University of Wisconsin campus.

The road race would then move east through downtown and before heading west to its finish in Blue Mound State Park, about 25 miles southwest of Madison. However, over an hour of cycling will take place on the streets of downtown Madison.

Additionally, the mountain bike course would be at Tyrol Basin in Mt. Horeb, a ski and snowboard destination about 20 miles west of Madison.

Athletes will be housed on the UW campus at a new residence hall scheduled for completion in 2014.

Gov. Jim Doyle said Wisconsin has been working with the Chicago 2016 committee for some time.

“It would also provide an economic boom that will travel up here to Wisconsin,” Doyle said. “We will have the opportunity to host travelers and athletes eager to experience all that our beautiful state has to offer.”

Doug Arnot, director of sports and operations for Chicago 2016, said he believes Madison already has the adequate infrastructure in place but added it was too early to estimate exact figures on the number of visitors to Madison.

Taxpayers will not pay any of the direct costs of the events, Arnot said but added state and local governments often use it as a way to improve the appearance and functionality of their city.

Arnot said the committee had originally planned a road race route in the Chicago area, but the course was relatively flat due to the nature of Illinois.

Professional cyclist Robbie Ventura, a Kenosha native, worked to help determine an appropriate course in the Madison-area.

“I know the athletes are going to love coming here, it’s going to be a challenging course,” Ventura said.

Ventura added it is the most difficult course of any of the past few Olympic games based on the number and intensity of uphill stretches.

Doyle called the announcement “a testament to our strong biking tradition,” pointing out Wisconsin’s ranking as the second most bike-friendly state, Madison’s extensive bike trail system and the state’s $800 million bicycle tourism industry.

“[Madison’s] reputation as a cycling destination is arguable second to none in the United States,” Arnot said.

Other cities in competition for the games include Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid, which was a finalist for the 2012 games, ultimately awarded to London.

The International Olympic Committee will visit Chicago April 2-8 as a part of the decision making process, Arnot said.

IOC will make its final decision at an Oct. 2 meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Badger Herald

If Chicago succeeds in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, several cycling events could be held in Dane County, local and state officials confirmed Thursday.

Mark Sherven, chairman of the town of Vermont, said tentative plans call for a Tour de France-style race winding from Madison through his town and the scenic, athletically challenging hills west of Madison, ending at Blue Mound State Park.

"It would be an amazing thing to have that come to our area," Sherven said. "We're very excited."

Gov. Jim Doyle is scheduled to make an announcement regarding Wisconsin's role in the 2016 games Friday at the state Capitol, spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said.

"We can say we're excited to be part of the bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago and Wisconsin," Sensenbrenner said.

Doyle and Chicago 2016's operations chief said they will talk about collaborations involving the city of Madison and the surrounding area.

Doyle hinted the announcement might involve bicycling but would not give details to reporters after a Thursday business luncheon in Madison.

A spokeswoman for the Olympic bid effort said the news conference will show how the Madison area would be affected if Chicago won the bid. She declined to provide details.

Sherven, who will be at today's announcement, said time trial races could be held in Madison, and mountain bike events might be held at the Tyrol Basin ski area.

Larry Bierke, village administrator for the village of Mount Horeb, confirmed he also would be present at today's news conference but declined to discuss the announcement.

A spokeswoman for Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz also had no comment.

The prospect of the area hosting cycling events has figured in discussions among bicyclists since Chicago decided to make a bid, said David Vogt, deputy director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

The area around Mount Horeb and Blue Mounds would be a logical place to hold those events, Vogt said, calling it "some of the best bicycling roads in the Midwest." "There are good elevation changes, which are necessary for any competition cycling," Vogt said. "Olympic cycling needs elevation changes, there are rarely any flat roads involved."

Vogt listed several high-caliber bicycling events that take place in that area, including the Horribly Hilly 100 (and its daunting Mounds Park Road climb), the Dairyland Dare of Dodgeville and Barneveld, the Blue Mounds Classic and the 10-mile L'Alpe Bl'Huez Blue Mounds Time Trial in May.

Popular bicycle trails also criss-cross the area.

Vogt said the Wisconsin federation has not been approached by anyone connected to the Olympics for help siting routes, but "they wouldn't have to ask twice."

He cautioned that "the Olympics are a long enough shot just to get the city of Chicago picked" that it's not worth getting one's hopes up yet. "But you have to look at previous Olympics, where the events can be quite spread out," he said, adding that some events, such as the road race and time trials, would be ideal for the Blue Mounds and Mount Horeb area.

Tyrol Basin manager Don McKay said Thursday the business received feelers from Chicago bid officials about two months ago. The skiing area was the site of mountain bike collegiate competitions in the 1990s, and a summer event would fit the enterprise perfectly, he said.

The area around Tyrol, 20 miles west of Madison in rural Mount Horeb, is widely known to bicyclists, he added. Adapting the hills for mountain bikes would not be difficult to do, he said.

"We have had some tentative looks (from designers) but nobody is going to spend a lot effort before they actually get the bid," he said. "The ski slopes have some open visibility, the up and down hills are difficult challenges, and there are some woods for technical difficulty," he said.

"People who know more about bike courses than I seem to think it would work."

Jason Stein and George Hesselberg - Wisconsin State Journal

Contact Jason Stein at jstein@madison.com or 608-252-6129; contact George Hesselberg at ghesselberg@madison.com or 608-252-6140.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.