Rochester Twilight Criterium to return in August

After a six-year hiatus, the Rochester Twilight Criterium could return this summer — giving residents a chance to stand curbside as world-class cyclists whiz by during a nighttime bike race looping through downtown.

Mayor Lovely Warren has asked City Council to authorize $30,000 for the one-day event, which is free and open to the public. The criterium returns as one of 16 sanctioned by USA Cycling as part of the U.S. National Criterium Calendar. Set for Aug. 15, it is near the tail end of the calendar, one week before the Chris Thater Memorial in Binghamton.

"When I called up USA Cycling, they were so excited to bring it back," said organizer Scott Page, owner of Full Moon Vista bike shop. "As an organization, they don't ever show their cards ... it was really telling."

The criterium ran from 2004 through 2008, growing to three days with plans for further expansion in 2009, until the economic collapse. In the intervening years, title sponsor Saturn ceased to exist, and Page focused on his business, as Full Moon Vista relocated from the St. Paul Quarter to the South Wedge. He began working to bring back the race last year but has yet to identify a new title sponsor.

"I want it be an annual thing again," he said. "I wouldn't want to do this if it was just for 2015."

He simplified, taking the event back to its roots: "Really what it comes down to is the criterium is what everybody loved. ... It's like NASCAR. It is so much fun to watch. You get to see these guys (pass by) every two minutes for two hours."

Previous criteriums have drawn former and current Olympians, as well as world and national champions from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ireland, England, Germany, France, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Serbia and Czechoslovakia.

In seeking City Council approval, Warren wrote that the races, including afternoon amateur events, should draw more than 30,000 spectators, with 20,000 turning out for the final men's race "under the street lights." Bringing back the event, she wrote, "aligns well with the city's dedication to become a world-class bicycling community."

Council members will consider the matter when they meet in committee on Jan. 15, and could vote their approval Jan. 20. The total event budget is $162,000, Page said. Full Moon Vista also will host free summer workshops at the Central Library and, the day before the event, tour local recreation centers with some of the professional cyclists, according to the mayor.

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/sharproc