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(Northbrook, Ill., Jan. 15) - Cycling legend Andy Hampsten will headline a gala fundraising dinner early next month, joining the long list of supporters helping to Save the Northbrook Velodrome. Hampsten, the only American to win the prestigious Tour of Italy, will be joined by Tom Schuler, head of Team Sports Inc., and U.S. Postal Service riders Robbie Ventura and Kenny Labbe at the event.

All this is happening at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 7 at E.J.'s Place, 10027 N. Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. Tickets are $100 each and seating is limited to 90. Owner E.J. Lenzi is donating the use of a party room and all food costs for the event.

The event will also feature a raffle sponsored by Turin Bicycles and Lake Shoes. On offer are a Waterford 2800 track frame customized to the winner's specifications and five pairs of top-of-the-line Lake CX303CF shoes - the shoes Hampsten would wear if riding the Giro today. Tickets for the event will include one entry into the raffle; both dinner tickets and additional raffle entries are available for $10 on-line at SignMeUpSports.com at http://www.signmeup.com/23775. (The raffle is open to the public, regardless whether they attend the dinner.) Attendees to the dinner will also participate in a silent auction to help raise further funds.

"Our year-end Close the Gap fundraising drive put us very close to our goal," according to Peter Janunas, Northbrook Cycle Committee president. "We hope that this event, dinner with such great cycling dignitaries, will put us over the top."

In addition to his 1988 Giro d'Italia win, Hampsten won the Tour of Switzerland in 1987 and a Tour de France stage to the legendary Alpe d'Huez in 1992 (the only American besides Lance Armstrong to win there.) Schuler's Team Sports Inc. was the team behind the long-running domestic Saturn squad, the most successful U.S.-based team ever. Ventura and Labbe are two Illinois-based riders on Armstrong's USPS team.

The Northbrook Park District Ed Rudolph Velodrome is in danger of closing after this season unless improvements are made. The Northbrook Park District, which owns the facility, has offered to fund half the project, charging the local cycling community with raising the remainder.

The Northbrook Cycling Committee is coordinating these efforts, and has created a reserve fund administered by a CPA who has volunteered his time. Via several fundraising efforts, the goal has nearly been achieved; until formal bids are made public, however, the "finish line" will not be known.

More information is available at www.northbrookvelodrome.com.