Some awesome pictures from our local photographer Ken Urban.

http://www.kenurbanphotography.com/p569981201

All Criterium volunteers are welcome to attend the 2014 Volunteer Appreciation Party.

• Monday, June 2
  
• 6:00pm - 8:00pm
  
• Rudy's in the Village of East Davenport
  

We'll have an open Taco Bar and soft drinks for all. We'll also have a raffle at 7 PM for several prizes. See you there!

Race results can be found on Facebook and Twitter. See links to the left.

It is Bike Month! It is Criterium time! Time to keep cars at a minimum. Hopefully we will have more people cycling in to the Criterium than cyclists participating!

Walk or bike to the Quad Cities Bicycle Club's 2014 Critierium. Bring your own lock if you are cycling. Wear that helmet, too! Bike parking will not be secured so lock your bicycle up as you would on a regular commuter ride. We hope to have some triathlon staging area racks diagonally across the alley from the back of Lago's on Christie St. Also 11th St. Precinct has given permission for cyclists to lock their cycles up in the Gilda fenced in park next to their building. Space is limited there. The 11th St. Precinct and the QCBC is not responsible for any damage to the bikes. If you are concerned about damage use an old bike. You may have to lock your steed to a post, fence, etc. so please be flexible. Do not lock your bike up to any dog on a leash!

Below are some suggestions to park and walk/bike. Please leave the parking area better than when you arrived. If you know anyone associated with the following parking options, please tell them "Thanks for helping the Crit!"
Read more...

May 24

• Dispatch Argus QCOnline.com - On the road again: `Bix on Bicycles' ready to roll
  
• Quad City Times - East Village preps for Memorial Day race

May 25

• Dispatch Argus QCOnline.com - `Kitchen-table talk' launched local tradition
  
• Quad City Times - New Criterium course has some ups and downs

The preparations for the Quad Cities Criterium are going fantastic.
Volunteers have taken a huge pull, sponsors have taken a giant pull, the city of Davenport has taken a monster pull and the Village of East Davenport is pulling us all the way home to the finish line.

Even with the all the fantastic teamwork, I need some help in a big way. I need 8 able bodied volunteers to help with the barricade set up crew on Monday morning at 5 AM. The set up will take until about 9 AM but the most important time to help is at 5 AM to start the set up process. We will have coffee, and food served by the Village Cafe right at the finish line at Jersey Ridge and 11th St.

Please, please help set up if you can and contact Dean Mathias at 309 737 8429, or email him at: mathiasdebdean@peoplepc.com to let us know if you can make it. Thanks again for everything.

Tom Schuler
Quad Cities Race Director

KWQC Fran Riley's story on the 2014 Quad Cities Criterium.

News and Weather For The Quad Cities -

During the races, we will be using Twitter to let you know when race results are posted and other information that may be of interest. Use the hashtag #qccrit and please feel free to join in.

It has a new venue this year, but the annual Quad Cities Criterium will be happening in just over two weeks, on Memorial Day.

This is the first year moving to the Village of East Davenport, after spending over 10 in the Rock Island Downtown.

Now, crews are working to make the new course, as smooth as possible.

This Winter, John Harrington, President of the Quad City Bike Club, met with Davenport city leaders, going over the proposed course so they would know which streets would need fixing.

"We asked them, what kind of dangers are we look for with these high pressure, small tires moving at a high rate of speed," says Davenport Public Works Director Mike Clarke.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, crews are getting to work, fixing drains, crack and potholes.

"We were looking for things that would be dangerous for participants as well as people watching," Clarke explains. "With the Criterium, we don't want a bicycle to hit a bump or a crack, and have them go careening off the track and hit a bunch of kids."

Crews believe everything will be fixed on the roads by next week, making for a fast racing surface on Memorial Day. 600 racers from around the world will be coming, and organizers expect quite a crowd.
View video...

Video of Paula Sands interviewing Lyndsey and Rhonda about the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation and the Quad Cities Criterium.

News and Weather For The Quad Cities -

The Quad-Cities Criterium has a new location in the Village of East Davenport, and now it has embraced a charity that will be helped by the event.

The National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation will be the recipient of proceeds of this year's event, set for the Memorial Day weekend. That's the first time in nearly 50 years that the Criterium has had such a beneficiary, said John Harrington, the president of the Quad-Cities Bicycle Club, which organizes and hosts the racing event.

This year will be the first time the Criterium has been held in Iowa. It orginated in Moline and has been held in recent years in downtown Rock Island.
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March 12, 2014. The Quad Cities Criterium (QCC) bicycle race, contested each year on Memorial Day, will be moving to a challenging new course in the Village of East Davenport. The Criterium will be celebrating its 49th edition in 2014.

The course start/finish line will be located in the heart of the Village business district on 11th Street ascending into the hills of McClellan Heights before plunging back down 12th Street to the finish for a total distance of 3/4's of a mile. Criterium race director Tom Schuler stressed that "cyclists are always looking for hilly, challenging courses that test their strength and endurance and this will be a very tough and exciting venue as we approach the 50th anniversary of the event".

The Criterium is owned by the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and has previously been contested in both Moline and the District of Rock Island. Each year 600 participants travel from around the Midwest often competing in a full weekend of bicycle races in Burlington, Muscatine and the Quad Cities, providing significant economic impact to the area and local businesses. Paul Schnell, Vice President of the Village of East Davenport Business Association, summarizes that "the Village is pleased to have such a quality event like the Criterium locating here. The long history of this fine race combined with the unique setting of the Village of East Davenport should provide a fun and entertaining family event for many years to come".
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