The Northbrook Grand Prix returned for a second year on July 27 as part of the village’s annual commitment to the 2023 Intelligentsia Cup Chicago cycling racing series.
Northbrook has the Thursday slot in the 10-day competitive series that began July 21 in West Dundee and ends in Chicago on July 30. Host municipalities included Glen Ellyn, Winfield, Mundelein, Lombard, Brookfield, Elgin and Lake Bluff.
The Village of Northbrook distributed free handheld white cowbells featuring the village’s new logo among spectator swag amenities.
“It’s absolutely fun,” Northbrook Village President Kathryn L. Ciesla said. “Thursday was the day we could get.”
Northbrook is renowned for the Ed Rudolph Velodrome at Meadowhill Park. According to the Northbrook Park District website, former Northbrook Park District Commissioner Ed Rudolph helped design and build the bicycle track in 1960 for track cycling.
During winter, the velodrome was flooded for a speed skating rink and accommodated U.S. Winter Olympics team practice.
“We are definitely a sports town and a cycling town,” Ciesla said. “This is a great place to ride, a great place to be and I think we need to continue to support the culture of our community.”
From late morning until sunset, four streets around Village Green Park became a Criterium bicycle racecourse for one day.
“We are very excited and pleased that it’s taking place here and loving the action,” said spectator Mike Macfadden of Northbrook.
Races featured professional and amateur riders. Ben and Alyssa Schwartz of Northbrook and their children Levi, 4, and Lucy, 1, rode the community fun ride.
“We’re super excited to do this,” Alyssa Schwartz said. “It’s an awesome opportunity especially for the young riders.”
More than 500 series riders from across the world participated, said Bill Davis of Northbrook, the Grand Prix marketing coordinator, a volunteer position with LOC, the event’s local organizing committee.
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“We’re thrilled with the turnout this year,” Davis said. “We’ve had thousands of people attend the race, both in the downtown area and around the neighborhoods, so it’s been a great experience for all of us.”
Thursday’s weather was sunny and humid at 88 degrees but also breezy. Rain impacted cycling surfaces during the series but streets were dry in Northbrook.
“We’ll take the heat,” Davis said.
Approximately 50 volunteers assisted, including Matt Curin, a Northbrook resident since 2016 who stepped down from last year’s LOC chair position after public controversy over logistics and money.
Curin is also no longer a Northbrook Park District commissioner and chair of the village’s pedestrian and bicycle commission.
But Curin returned as a course marshal on July 27 and completed three two-hour volunteer shifts.
“I want this race to succeed,” Curin said. “I’m so happy that there were people that were willing to take it over.”
Added Davis: “Matt started this last year and we’re carrying on what Matt did. Matt did all the heavy lifting.”
Davis verified the 2023 sponsorship fundraising goal of $25,000 fell short after a later start in planning this year’s Northbrook race.
“The Village is basically underwriting this event,” Davis said. “Our job as the LOC was to reimburse them in whole and we’re falling a little bit short there financially so the village is picking up the tab on the few things that we ran short on expense wise. We’re putting on a phenomenal race.”
Volunteers included social media coordinator Terry Kasdan of Northbrook who grew up in Glenview and is of the Glenbrook South High School Class of 1991.
“Anything that brings out the community to downtown Northbrook and to the Village Green is just a wonderful thing,” Kasdan said.
Kasdan cousins Nate Kasdan, 18, of Northbrook, a 2023 Glenbrook North High School graduate, and Ethan Kasdan, 20, of the 2021 Class of Glenbrook North High School, were social media specialists for the event.
The social media campaign succeeded and “was big for us,” as an assignment, Nate said.
Ethan said, “Leading up to the race, we did a lot of posting … we really ramped up,” adding the result was, “a lot more people here than last year so it’s really exciting to see that all of the work that we’ve done and all the things we posted on social media is actually making an impact.”
This year featured a street-situated Expo area for vendors and organizations. The event offered vendor Jacki Ruh of Northbrook, of the Glenbrook North High Class of 2000, the sidewalk sale opportunity to sell Ruh’s Pixie Lane children’s clothing outside an accommodating storefront.
Purchasers included, “definitely a lot of local people,” Ruh said, including customers from Minnesota.
The winner of the Women Pro/1/2 race was Samantha Schneider of West Allis, Wisconsin with team L39ION of Los Angeles.
“It felt good, that was the plan for today, so for the team to be able to get it done was really awesome, extra special,” Schneider said post race.
Ty Magner of Athens, Georgia of the L39ION of Los Angeles team took first place in the Men Pro/1/2 race, the last race of the day.
Northbrook’s racecourse was, “really fast, one of the fastest ones we’ve done so far,” Magner said.
“It’s not very hilly, it’s very flat,” Magner added. “You just carry speed all the way around.”
Visit https://intelligentsiacup.com/schedule/northbrook/.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.