Chicago will host the first inaugural Chicago Criterium next summer, the City announced last week.

The cycling race is slated for July 27, 2008 in Grant Park in downtown Chicago.

Organizers want the event to draw professional as well as top amateur riders and thousands of spectators. Randy Warren of the Chicago Bicycle Federation said the race is still in the planning stages, but that they hope the race will be a National Racing Calendar (NRC) event. That would mean the race would be at the highest caliber of competition, draw the best domestic and international riders, and offer prize money of at least $10,000 for the Men's Pro/1/2 race.

The city is also pulling all the stops to ensure that the race will be a crowd-friendly event. Besides the criterium, a fast-paced race usually held on a short loop on closed city streets, there will also be vendor and sponsor booths to browse. Spectators will be able to watch the race for free from the either the grandstand at the start/finish line or from the Jumbotron broadcast in the park.

"For a race of this size you can expect crowds of 10,000," Warren said. "People will come from across the country just to race in front of a crowd like that."

Course details are still being worked out, but it will probably be slightly less than a mile-long loop that runs through at least part of Grant Park.

Former pro rider and Vision Quest Coaching president Robbie Ventura said this will be an exciting race for Midwestern racers, who are known for being strong criterium riders. "It will be great for them to have a criterium right at home that is at a national level," he said.

The announcement was made by Mayor Richard M. Daley at the Bike to Work Rally and as part of Bike Chicago, a city campaign to make Chicago one of the most bike-friendly places in the country. This race will help do that, said Warren, and it will also help the city in its bid for the 2012 Olympics.

It has been more than 10 years since downtown Chicago has seen a race of this caliber. The city hosted the Sara Lee Classic in 1996, drawing a number of professional riders, said Ventura, but he hopes that this criterium will be even bigger.

"The city of Chicago doesn't do stuff halfway," Ventura said. "They're going to go flat out, so this should be exciting."

For updates about the race, see www.chicagocriterium.us