Road Bike Racing - Talk about SuperWeek... whos doing it?

I will be racing in SuperWeek http://www.internationalcycling.com/schedule.shtml for the first time this year. It is a huge cycling event of different races in and around the Milwaukee area for about the length of the Tour de France. Ive never done it before as this is my first year racing but have heard good things. Who has done it? What are some of the "must do" races? I may be going for the first week and staying in a motorhome with a couple teamates but we are all in the same boat and hoping to get a little knowledge.

I will be racing in SuperWeek http://www.internationalcycling.com/schedule.shtml for the first time this year. It is a huge cycling event of different races in and around the Milwaukee area for about the length of the Tour de France. Ive never done it before as this is my first year racing but have heard good things. Who has done it? What are some of the "must do" races? I may be going for the first week and staying in a motorhome with a couple teamates but we are all in the same boat and hoping to get a little knowledge.
Hey. I'll be doing a couple races during superweek. The must do races, if you're a pro/1/2, are the Downer Avenue Criterium, the Brewers Hill Crit (I think that's just pro/1/2) and the Shorewood Criterium.

If you're a Cat 3, then there's the Whitefish Bay Criterium (also awesome if you're pro/1/2), the Tour of Holy Hill RR, the Whitnall Park RR (I'm going to do this one this year, I think, along with the Whitefish Bay crit), the Alpine Valley RR, and the Maritime Bay Classic in Manitowoc, I've heard, is great.

They're all good. July in Wisconsin rocks. I cannot stress this enough. :D

Edit: the Whitefish Bay criterium and the Downer Avenue Criterium are at the end of the second week. If you can do the Shorewood Criterium, do it. Lots of people, too much fun.

Remember to set your Superweek Clock back an hour or so. Not because it's in Wisconsin and you're in the U.P. but because Superweek is ALWAYS behind schedule.

That said, I'm going to try to make it to Downer Ave and a few others this year.
Holy Hill and Alpine Valley are not on my list.

Go Enema U!

It has been over 20 years since I did Superweek, but if they are running a race on the Lakefront course be sure to do that one - it was always a favorite of mine. It has just about everything - a good hill, curvy descent, crosswinds off the lake...

Have fun - I'm jealous.

I think I may get there on saturday and then race the week and finish with the shorewood ave crit on thursday. I didnt realize but I cannot do some races because I am only a cat 4 so I will have to plan accordingly. I definitally want to do the Alpine Valley one because I really like that area and its a road race (i prefer them to crits). Thanks for the suggestions and any other insight or experiences is appreciated.

being from WI I've done that race series many times - as a 4 through a 1. The P1/2 fields are tough - not a lot of $$ per race if you look at the jumbo start lists and who's there. A lot of the courses are great though. The Milwaukee races are super - way long straights to the finishes. The Madison crit is always fun. If you're a contender and/or trying to win some races, I'd do them all - 'specially if you're not in the P1/2 division - you can make some decent $$ there - I'd work on the intervals and sprinting for sure...

Bump.

And Superweek is now on like Donkey Kong.

Lots of racers in town. Saw some Team Milram guys riding up Lake Drive. Sweet.

Anyone else doing the Whitnall Park Road Race. I'll be with the Cat 4/5s.

Lots of racers in town. Saw some Team Milram guys riding up Lake Drive. Sweet.


Huh? Are you sure an Italian Pro Tour team is really in town for SuperWeek?

Um, yes. The riders who don't go to the Tour have historically shown up at ****'s race in Wisconsin. Not a big deal, really.
The main draw is all those beautiful Wisconsin women in Milwaukee.
Seriously.

Huh? Are you sure an Italian Pro Tour team is really in town for SuperWeek?

Milram is a German sponsor (http://www.milram.de). They took over Domina Vananze's Pro Tour license. Superweek is a BIG event.

Milram is a German sponsor (http://www.milram.de). They took over Domina Vananze's Pro Tour license. Superweek is a BIG event.

I stand corrected. I've been to Superweek before, but there definitely weren't any riders from big teams there.

I'm curious what kind of appearance fee those guys get for coming over here.

Huh? Are you sure an Italian Pro Tour team is really in town for SuperWeek?
Yep. I saw them as I was headed out for a ride. Three guys, full kits, bikes, no helmets, the whole deal. I looked and thought, "those are some serious fan boys." They were just out riding. So I did a u-turn and caught up to them. Yep. Three guys chatting away in German. I said, "hi, welcome to Milwaukee." They said, "thanks". Then I turned around and went back on my ride.

So either they are on Team Milram, Team Milram's development squad, or they are some super hardcore fan boys.

Can anyone house a cat4 racer for a couple days? really want to make it out.

Yep. I saw them as I was headed out for a ride.

It would have been awesome if one of them threw a pump into your spokes, Breaking Away style. Well, not awesome for you, but awesome in a "life imitates art" kind of way.

For me, the best thing about Superweek was that there was a hospital right next to the Kenosha course. Of course, they still charged $500 for a 100 yard ambulance ride ...