SPRINGFIELD — North America’s premiere cycling league is about to arrive in Effingham County at a considerable rate of speed.
Springfield is set to host the USA CRITS Springfield Criterium on Tuesday. The professional USA CRITS riders are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 40 mph on a closed downtown course.
“It’s really, really neat,” Springfield Community Development Director Erin Phillips, a cycling enthusiast said. “It a good event for spectators.”
Springfield has gained a reputation as a cycling hot spot because of its successful annual Century Ride and the presence of Bike Effingham, a local cycling group.
“(USA CRITS) wanted to come to Springfield, which I think is pretty cool,” Phillips said.
Bike Effingham founder and President Ashley Parker is a driving force behind the criterium.
“Basically, I was contacted about hosting this event,” he said. “Savannah is just too big to have (a criterium) and Springfield just fits into the size of being able to shut the streets down and have the event.”
The Springfield Criterium is going occur three days after USA CRITS’ biggest event — the AOC Twilight Criterium in Athens. It will be much different than the Century Ride, which allows participants to cruise through the countryside at a leisurely pace.
A criterium, a term unfamiliar to most Effingham County residents, is a race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over roads closed to traffic. The Springfield version will have time limits.
“I’ve even had to explain to people whether it was going to involve motorcycles or bicycles,” Parker joked.
Springfield’s 1-kilometer course will start and end at Mars Theatre on Laurel Street. It also includes 2nd Street, South Oak Street and Elbert Street.
“When I was presented with the idea to do this, I was told, ‘We know about the Mars Theatre and we want to have this on your main street, We want to see the best side of your city and that’s where we love to have this event,’ ” Parker said. “Not only is it a bike race, it’s also an advertisement for the city. It’s advertisement for the people who are coming from out of town to do the event and we also have residents who live in Effingham, County, Bulloch County, Liberty County or Bryan County who are into this type of event and will be draw to Springfield.”
Although the City of Springfield isn’t a criterium sponsor — they were obtained by Parker — the event has enjoyed its support.
Phillips said, “It’s something that we’ve not had here before and the good thing about it, from our perspective, is that it’s really low maintenance on the city’s part because we just allow (USA CRITS) to come in here and close the streets the way that we have. This group comes in and sets up pretty much everything they need to do.
“Obviously, they have some volunteer requests but all the set-up is not put on the municipality. It’s also part of a (national) series that brings people with it, which I think is great. It’s not a typical festival or something that you can see in the next town over so we are kind of excited about it.”
Downtown restaurants and other businesses will be open during the races.
The criterium was originally slated for 2020 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve been talking about this with the Springfield City Council for about a year and half,” Phillips said.
The criterium will feature six classes: Masters 35+ (4 p.m.), Masters 45+ (4 p.m.), Men’s Category 4/5 (4:45 p.m.), Men’s Category 2/3 (5:20 p.m.), Women’s Pro (6:15 p.m) and Men’s Pro (7:20 p.m.). The races will last anywhere from 30-75 minutes depending on the division.
“It’s a good event but it’s good, clean fun,” said Parker, who intends to compete in the event. “People from three years old to 93 years old know about a bicycle. I really think a lot of people understand how seriously these people take these races.”
For more information about the Springfield Criterium or Bike Effingham, visit www.bikeeffingham.com or contact Parker at www.bikeeffingham@gmail.com.
