EDWARDSVILLE – It has been said that Edwardsville is a community of cyclists.
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That community got together in the streets of downtown Edwardsville Saturday afternoon and evening for a series of races that made up the sixth edition of TheBANK of Edwardsville Edwardsville Criterium, a fund-raiser for the Edwardsville Rotary Club.
A criterium is a cycling road race along a closed course in the streets of a city or town, preferably a downtown area. Races on the Edwardsville Criterium course, which measured seven-tenths of a mile around, consisted of either a time-limit race or a specified number of laps around the course, much like in auto racing.
“We had eight races scheduled along with four races for kids,” said Rotary member and race director S.J. Morrison. “We also had bands scheduled while the races were going on and a tent sponsored by First Clover Leaf Bank called the Pedal and Paint Tent, where kids could make art on some canvases and take what they made home with them.”
The Criterium came about because of Edwardsville’s cycling community; many people in Edwardsville often travel by bike, and Morrison thought a criterium race would be a good fund-raiser for the Rotary Club. “I live in downtown Edwardsville and I noticed how many people ride bikes here,” Morrison said. “I thought having a criterium here would be an organic fit for the city and a good way to raise money for the club.
“We have a great cycling community here. The atmosphere for the criterium is really good and we’ve created a fun, festival-like atmosphere for downtown Edwardsville.”
Each of the races on the card were sponsored by community businesses or organizations and were open to both men and women cyclists.
SEE PHOTO GALLERY FROM CRITERIUM RACE:
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
