Some new bike races are coming to southern Indiana

If you're from the Midwest and one of your New Year's resolutions is to race your bike more, Southern Indiana has got it covered.

Bicycle racers in Southern Indiana and the surrounding areas can expect to have a few extra weekends of racing in 2024. A brand new series of races including three criteriums and two gravel races will take place in Jeffersonville, Columbus, Bloomington, Nashville, and Madison.

The events are being organized by The Bicycle Station bike shops in Columbus and Jeffersonville, IN.

The Bicycle Station in Columbus, IN.: Image Courtesy of Yelp!

Bloomington, Jeffersonville, and Columbus criteriums

The series of criteriums are set to take place in Jeffersonville, Columbus, and Bloomington, IN. during the Summer. Currently, the race courses in each location are not yet posted. Registration will open at the start of Feb., 2024.

The races will take place in June, July, and Aug. during the last weekends of the month.

Planning and hosting the criterium races is a big undertaking, according to Grace Washburn, who is working with business owners, police, and town officials to set up the races.

"One of the biggest challenges was coordinating with the town officials," said Washburn. "For the gravel race in Madison, we had to figure out trash removal, portable restrooms, and write letters to local businesses and residents."

All of this coordination takes place prior to approval for events -- even for grassroots races like gravel.

But the gratification of it all lies ahead, according to Washburn. "It's a lot off work, but it's a huge payoff in the end. There's a satisfaction to seeing everyone at the event racing and having fun," she said.

Registration will open in February, with race information and links to the bikereg website for registration being found the OpeCycling website. 

It's not the First Time there will be a Crit in Bloomington...

Historically, there were many versions of a downtown criterium in Bloomington, which attracted many fans (surely there are many Bloomington natives and IU cycling alumni which can attest, as the frequent criterium ended before I got into the sport...). Earlier iterations of the event were also known as (but not limited to) The Bloomington Crit, The Bloomington Grand Prix, and Scholars Inn Bakehouse Bloomington Criterium.

In the past, there was also a "Tour of Bloomington," which offered a time trial and road race, and criterium held in downtown Bloomington.

According to a 2010 article on the BloomingtonBicycleClub website, the 2009 Bloomington Criterium garnered the attention of 2,000 spectators. 

Hopefully the Bicycle Station Criterium series can revive the excitement and need for a yearly race in Bloomington.

A photo of the Bloomington Criterium on Kirkood. Image from VisitBloomington.com

A Draw to Collegiate Riders

Currently, collegiate cyclists from the Bloomington area are able to ride the IU Cycling Club's Candy Stripe Classic collegiate race, held annually in March, as well as The Hilly Hundred and races of other disciplines (gravel and mtb). 

Washburn hopes that the low cost and easy access will draw in local collegiate racers from the area, including the large community of cyclists from Bloomington, IN., which Washburn, herself, was a part of in recent years. 

She and her Melanzana cycling team won their second consecutive Women's Little 500 back in April of 2023.

Washburn (third from L) and the Melanzana team at qualifications in 2023. This isn't the first time Washburn has been featured in a story on the RBR -- check out the feature on their 2023 race bike!

Glacial Drainage Gravel Grinder and Karst Krusher Gravel Races

To top-off the list of new events, there will be another gravel race in addition to Bicycle Station's Karst Krusher gravel race. The Glacial Drainage Gravel Grinder will take place on Mar. 10, 2024, in Madison, IN. 

The Glacial Drainage race boasts some of the toughest hills in Madison along the route -- with a big hill five miles from the start, Bee Camp Road, needing to be walked up! 

The Karst Krusher's will be held again in 2024 Southeast of Nashville. The race date and routes are confirmed, and registration is currently open on bikereg.com -- set for May 11, 2024.

Karst Krusher's 2024 long-distance route has been shortened by 20 miles, panning out to about 100 kilometers, or 61 miles. The 32-mile short route overlaps with the 100k loop's aid stations, avoids singletrack, and has a route that is only about 38% gravel, according to the Ope Cycling website.

Links for registration and event info on both the Glacial Drainage and Karst Krusher gravel races can be found here on the Ope Cycling site.

Karst Krusher 2023

Uncomfirmed Races

Initially, Washburn's plan was to host cross-country mountain bike races in Brown County Park, a time trial, and a bi-weekly criterium held in Jeffersonville. However, logistics, dates, and coordination with town officials, park officials, and locals are still being figured out.

The bi-weekly criterium, according to Washburn, would be a great way for racers to rack up USAC upgrade points with a low cost to entry of $25 if the event happens.

The Bicycle Station hopes to host the time trial in the month of Aug. of 2024, around the same time as the Louisville Ironman 70.3. Currently, the plan is to conduct the 20 kilometer race on part of the Ironman course.

This would be a welcomed addition to the Bicycle Station event lineup as there are currently very few time trials in Indiana (Three Rivers Velosport TT Series in Fort Wayne and the Indiana State Championships). 

The Bicycle Station held a couple of unsanctioned time trials in 2023, using Strava for course segments and keeping the competition open for multiple days, allowing riders to complete the course on their own time.

Even without the confirmation of the additional races, Southern Indiana residents and cyclists within the Midwest are sure to be happy with the gravel and criterium races confirmed for the Spring and Summer of 2024.

Again -- be sure to check out the OpeCycling website for race registration and information on their upcoming races.