As the city of Chicago prepares its bid to host the Olympics in 2016, officials announced plans last week to bring certain events to Wisconsin and make Madison the cycling hub"" of the games.
Gov. Jim Doyle, Chicago 2016 organizers, former Olympic athletes and a number of community leaders gathered Friday to unveil Wisconsin areas as locations for cycling events if Chicago wins the bid.
According to Doug Arnot, Chicago 2016 director of sports and operations, the cycling time trials would take place in downtown Madison. The road race would also begin downtown and finish nearly 25 miles west of Madison at Blue Mound State Park and Tyrol Ski Basin in Mount Horeb would host the mountain biking events.
New residence halls at UW-Madison would serve as the athlete village for over 300 Olympians participating in cycling events.
""In seeking our site and the actual courses, we worked with Olympians, we worked with world-class mountain bikers and road cyclists as well as local cyclists,"" Arnot said. ""All pointed in one direction - north of Chicago to our neighbors in Wisconsin and specifically here in Madison.""
Kenosha native and professional cyclist Robbie Ventura assisted organizers by providing an athlete's opinion and suggested the Madison area's unique terrain as an ideal place to put Olympic competitors to the test.
""I think to win the Olympics in 2016 you're going to have to posses all the qualities of a champion, and I think we created a course that can do that,"" Ventura said.
Wisconsin is a particularly cycling-friendly state, and bicycle tourism is an $800 million industry, according to Doyle. The League of American Bicyclists named Wisconsin as the second most bike-friendly state behind Washington. Madison is also home to three major cycle companies: Trek, Pacific Cycle and Saris.
Doyle also said Wisconsin would benefit from the economic boom the Olympics would bring - including an increase in jobs, tourism and business in the area.
Chicago is competing against Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain; and Tokyo, Japan to host the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee will make a final decision on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
