By Vanessa Lenz
SLN Staff
East Troy will once again play host to the largest competitive cycling event in the United States thanks to the continued support of the Janice Klumb Family Foundation.
Katie Matteson, East Troy Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, said the Klumb family has agreed, for the second straight year, to put up half the bid fees to allow East Troy to serve as a host city for the 2013 11-day Tour of America’s Dairyland.
The East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce will act as the local host and hopes to receive funding for the balance of the fees via donations from local and regional sponsors.
Matteson received conceptual approval from the Village Board Jan. 7 to hold the race in East Troy on Friday, June 21.
She said the Chamber will present a detailed event permit to host the one-day bicycle race at a future date.
Village Trustee Mary Nugent requested the chamber put together a budget that includes the financial obligations it expects from the village.
Last year, the East Troy Village Board agreed to contribute $4,505.50 in police costs and $640 (16 hours) in Department of Public Works costs to help the East Troy Chamber pave the way for the $13,000 in hosting fees.
Trustee Dusty Stanford said he was pleased with last year’s event, which attracted top teams and riders from across the nation, as well as residents from throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
The professionally produced bicycling series of road racing, presented by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, is one of the most anticipated cycling events of the year.
The Tour of America’s Dairyland schedule kicks off with the Shorewood Criterium Classic on June 20 and ends on June 30. Host cities are still being determined.
This year’s racecourse will be changed due to construction this summer in the village.
The new East Troy race route will take riders one block north of the village square onto neighborhood streets in the half-mile course.
The Chamber’s organizing committee plans to get the word out to residents and businesses in upcoming months, as well as work to solicit sponsors and develop coordinating activities.
The race series is produced by Midwest Cycling Series, LLC. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board has been the presenting sponsor of the Tour of America’s Dairyland since the pro-am cycling event’s beginning in 2009.
For more information, call the Chamber at 642-3770.
