For the fourth straight year, the Northbrook Grand Prix will take over the suburb’s downtown this summer for a day-long event culminating in professional bicycle races for men and women riders.
On July 23, the Chicago Grit bicycle racing series will come to Northbrook to launch day seven of its 10-day racing program throughout north and west Chicagoland.
Seven different categories of amateur races will open the Northbrook Grand Prix at 11:10 a.m. and conclude shortly before the women’s professional race at 5 p.m.
Tom Schuler, cofounder and partner of Chicago Grit, said Northbrook is a natural choice as a site for one of the organization’s 10 annual races because the village is known as a cycling community. That’s thanks to the rich history of the Northbrook Park District’s Ed Rudolph Velodrome.
“When I was a young racer, when I raced at the Rudolph Velodrome, I was able to camp on the Village Green of Northbrook for four days,” Schuler said. “I can’t imagine they would allow camping today. That was the summer of 1974.”
The velodrome is nationally ranked and famous in bicycle racing circles, he said.
“We knew that if we were racing in Northbrook, it would resonate with our racers,” Schuler said. “They come from 43 states and 15 countries, and it has resonated with them.”
The Northbrook Grand Prix, held in the heart of downtown, attracts nearly 200 professional racers each year and another 300 or 400 who compete in amateur races or ride in the Family Fun Ride, he said.
“The organizing committee in the village put together a track that circles the Village Green,” Schuler said. “It’s a simple course. It goes around a beautiful part of town. It goes through the business district. The community comes out and has a family fun ride. It has turned out to be everything we had hoped for in Northbrook.”
Deputy Village Manager Jim Hawkins said the 2026 Grand Prix will have a “125th anniversary flavor to it.” Northbrook will celebrate the village’s 125th Anniversary as part of the event.
“It’s a very popular event,” Hawkins said. “It’s neat to watch. It’s very cool. The village likes to do it to bring folks together.”
The Grand Prix will require the closing of several streets, he said. Last year the 1.2-kilometer course required the closure of Shermer Road, Walters Avenue west of Church Street, and Church Street between Shermer and Walters, Hawkins told the Village Board last month.
The Chicago Grit racing series, which runs daily from July 17 through July 26, will award almost $80,000 in prizes this year, Schuler said.
“There are prizes all through each day,” he said. “The average winning male and female walk away with $3,000 over the course of 10 days. You might win one day and not place the next day.”
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The other nine races are in West Dundee, Glen Ellyn, Winfield, Mundelein, Lombard, Brookfield, Elgin, Lake Bluff and Chicago.
In Northbrook, prizes and awards will be presented for all nine races, from beginners to top-level professionals, Schuler said.
“Generally, the prizes go six to 10 places deep, so a couple hundred people win overall,” he said. “If you place, you get your entry fee back. Bike racing is unusual because prizes are always part of the sport.”
The last two races of the day are scheduled to start as the sun is setting and many people are getting off work, Schuler said. The family fun ride occurs between the women’s and men’s professional races, he said.
Chicago Grit is part of the national series the American Criterium Cup, for short course racers, Schuler said.