North Star Bicycle Festival

The North Star Bicycle Festival, is a ten-day series of cycling events that take place at sites around central Minnesota and now Wisconsin. The festival has gone by multiple names since its creation in 1999 as Tour de Wings.[1] It was known as the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival for 2000–2008, the Minnesota Bicycle Festival in 2009, and the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival for 2010–2013.

The festival takes place in mid-June. In 2010, the Festival took place on June 11–20, beginning with the Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic, June 11–13. The event consisted of velodrome racing at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota.

The marquee event of the Festival is the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a professional bicycle stage race. In 2010, races took place from June 16–20 in the downtowns of Saint Paul, Cannon Falls, Minneapolis, Menomonie and Stillwater.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is ranked at 2.1 the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar, the highest ranking for stage races. The Nature Valley Grand Prix is also part of the Women's Prestige Cycling Series, a national, four-race, women-only series

The primary sponsor is Nature Valley granola bars

Charitable mission

The Nature Valley Bicycle Festival is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) charity whose missions are bicycle education and to support Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. All proceeds from the Festival are donated to the pediatric hospice at Children's.

History

The North Star Bicycle Festival got its start in 1998, when the Lance Armstrong Foundation approached David LaPorte and asked for help to create a Twin Cities replica of the popular Austin, Texas-based Ride for the Roses. LaPorte launched the Tour de Wings in 1999. The two-day event featured a criterium in Saint Paul, around the grounds of the state Capitol, and a track race at the National Sports Center Velodrome.

In 2000, Great River Energy became a major sponsor and the event was named the Touchstone Energy Bicycle Festival. Track racing at the NSC Velodrome featured a four-day EDS Cup and the criterium moved from the state Capitol to downtown Saint Paul. Nature Valley Granola Bars joined as a sponsor in 2001 and a new road race stage was added. Great River Energy sponsored the U.S. Track National Championships during the festival at the NSC Velodrome and the festival made its first charitable donation to Camp Heartland.

From 2002 to 2006, the festival grew into a major annual Minnesota sporting event. Renamed The Great River Energy Bicycle Festival and Nature Valley Grand Prix, new venues and communities got involved, ultimately making the festival a six-stage race over a five-day period. Stillwater, Minn., became the marquis criterium of the event featuring an 18% climb up Chilkoot Hill. In 2003, a stage was added in Minneapolis, which made the Friday Night Minneapolis Downtown Classic the most widely attended stage of the five-day Nature Valley Grand Prix.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix attempts to be as equal as possible between men’s and women’s racing and has become an important women’s stage race in North America. The festival also named Children’s Hospital its sole charitable beneficiary of the proceeds created by the event.

In 2007, the Nature Valley Grand Prix became the top level stage race on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar. Organizers also launched a Women’s Collegiate All-Stars team, the first of its kind in the nation. Most recently, both the men’s and women’s races became invitation only events, topping out at 140 female and 140 male riders. Nature Valley also added a national talent identification program, the Nature Valley Pro Ride, which selects two teams of six men and six women at qualifier races held in the U.S. attend and compete as part of the Nature Valley Cycling Team.

Event organizers attempted to extend the sponsorship contract for the event in the first half of 2013, but were unable to come to an agreement before the contract expired in June that year. The organization held an unsponsored event in 2014. For 2015, the primary sponsors are North Memorial Health Care and PreferredOne.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Pat Borzi (2015-06-12). "The near death — and second life — of the North Star Bicycle Festival". MinnPost. Retrieved 2015-06-17.

External links

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