Gov. Jim Doyle showed his support for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid before the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission Monday.
If Chicago were selected, Wisconsin would be the host of the cycling events and the UW-Madison campus would act as the starting point for the road cycling course. The mountain bike course would be held at the Tyrol Basin Ski and Snowboard Area in Mount Horeb, Wis.
Hosting the course would be ""an incredibly exciting opportunity for us in Wisconsin as a great bicycling state,"" Doyle said in a conference call.
According to him, the U.S. Olympic Committee selected Wisconsin for the bike course because it has a great racing culture, a large bicycle industry and some of the best trails in the country.
Doyle also said the commission seemed impressed with Wisconsin's athletic training facilities, housing accommodations and other infrastructure, as well as the scenic beauty and difficulty of the courses.
The Chicago Summer Games would benefit the state by bringing tourism, according to Doyle.
""The first hurdle here is whether Chicago is selected,"" Doyle said. ""But if it is, I think we have to have a very effective tourism effort as we approach 2016.""
Doyle said the distance from Chicago to Madison is not an issue, citing the much greater distance of Beijing to events hosted in Hong Kong during the 2008 Olympics.
However, to improve transportation in the area, Doyle said the committee is interested in a high-speed rail system that would connect Chicago, Madison and the Twin Cities.
""We're pushing forward very hard on this, and we hope that as part of the stimulus package, the United States Department of Transportation [will] move forward on our application [for a rail system],"" he said.
Doyle said he hopes the committee will make its Olympic choice by fall 2009.
