'No brakes, 100% on the gas': Intelligentsia Cup brings intense bicycle racing to 10 suburbs
It's a sprint, not a marathon.
Ten sprints, actually.
Intelligentsia Cup Chicago brings criterium bicycle racing for men and women — and spectators — to 10 locations, July 21-30.
Elgin, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Mundelein, Northbrook, West Dundee and Winfield are among the towns hosting the series on layouts ranging from .68 to 1.4 miles long.
All have their own personality.
“Look at Glen Ellyn. We have a beautiful racecourse around Lake Ellyn, you think you're in France or something,” said Marco Colbert, a longtime Lincolnshire resident now living in Arizona.
He's the executive director of Prairie State Cycling, which runs Intelligentsia Cup. In 2012, Colbert founded the company with former professional cyclist Tom Schuler, location guru.
“Give him a town and he'll come back with a wonderful bicycle racecourse,” Colbert said. “All our racecourses are great, they're interesting or challenging courses, they're not four-corner courses where racers get bored with them.”
Criterium races, or “crits,” are street races lasting either a certain number of laps or within a time limit.
Intelligentsia races — its chief sponsor is the coffee company — go by time, from a half-hour for novice racers to 75 minutes for professionals and those in USA Cycling's highest classifications.
All but one in Chicago offer half-hour “family fun rides,” but in criterium, “novice” does not mean recreational. These are competitive cyclists who may be training to turn pro.
Still, with a helmet, a street bike and a day or annual license through USA Cycling, true novices can enter.
“The question is, are you ready for that challenge?” said Bekah Collins, Prairie State Cycling marketing director.
It depends if one is comfortable taking corners at 30 mph in a pack — or eating dust. BikeTips.com said beginners may expect to complete 15 laps while the pros do 60.
With a perfect name, a slim, youthful frame, off-road cycling chops and a job as a technician at Prairie Path Cycles in Batavia, 17-year-old Drake Dash seems well-suited for the Intelligentsia Cup.
It gave him all he could handle.
“I never had to deal with that much speed and a high heart rate 100% of the time. No brakes, 100% on the gas,” said Dash, an incoming senior at Geneva High School. “On the road, it's more all-out. Ain't no one waiting around for you.”
Last year, he entered the West Dundee River Challenge, the Winfield Criterium and the Elgin Classic in Memory of Dennis Jurs. This year, he wants to ride the full 10-race series.
“My goal is to put in good results in the Cat 4 men's category and hope to take the win for the overall points competition,” Dash said. “I'm using Intelligentsia for training for my races later in the summer.”
Intelligentsia Cup courses are among the nation's most popular, Dash said, and well-known abroad.
Collins said it's the largest road series in America based on entries — nearly 55,000 since it debuted in St. Charles and Lake Bluff.
Intelligentsia Cup drew 5,412 entries in 2022, many in more than one race, with cyclists from 42 states and 17 foreign countries. There's a New Zealand team coming this year, Colbert said.
Spectators like it, too. There's more action than a long line of bikes whizzing by.
“You're watching them fly around these crazy corners, which is a lot of fun,” Collins said. “I think people who've not experienced it have got a thought in their mind. Then they experience it and they think, 'It's way more interesting than I thought it would be.'”
Northbrook village Trustee Robert Israel, a cyclist who watched the Lake Bluff races, is “hugely excited” that starting last year the village adopted a leg of the series — the Northbrook Grand Prix.
“I volunteered at last year's race and was impressed by the event, the racers, and the crowd,” he said. “The race has many divisions for all levels of cyclists and the track is contained in a way to prevent accidents. Regardless of level, the racing was exciting and the crowd was thoroughly pumped up.”
That's exactly what Colbert is after.
“It celebrates the sport of cycling and gives our communities a really wonderful community event,” he said. “Perhaps, that is the most important purpose.”
Intelligentsia Cup Schedule
The Intelligentsia Cup Chicago road racing series visits 10 metropolitan locations from July 21-30.
Complete information, including schedules, course layouts, technical details and registration information may be found at intelligentsiacup.com.
Friday, July 21: West Dundee River Challenge
Events from 10:20 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting at Washington and Main Streets, West Dundee
Saturday, July 22: The Ray Whalen Builders Tour of Lake Ellyn
Events from 10 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting at Lenox Road off Linden Street, Glen Ellyn
Sunday, July 23: Winfield Criterium & Summerfest
Events from 10 a.m.-6:55 p.m., starting on Winfield Road at Creekside Park
Monday, July 24: Tighthead Mundelein Grand Prix
Events from 10:20 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting at Seymour Avenue and Hawley Street
Tuesday, July 25: Lombard Cycling Classic
Events from 10:20 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting at St. Charles Road and Park Avenue
Thursday, July 27: Northbrook Grand Prix
Events from 11:10 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting on Shermer Road at Village Green Park
Friday, July 28: Elgin Classic in Memory of Dennis Jurs
Events from 11:10 a.m.-6:45 p.m., starting at Cooper Avenue and Spring Street