Only once in the history of the Downer Avenue bike race, one of the biggest events at the Tour of America's Dairyland, has the rider who goes for the Ben's Super Prime won the race.
Typically, the race to the last corner of the annual criterium on Milwaukee's East Side is for the prime, and it is too much for a rider's body to recover in time for the final sprint to win the race.
But in last year's women's race, Alison Tetrick, racing for the Twenty16 Pro Cycling Team, pulled off a rare double.
"People have to think if they want to go for the prime or go for the win," she says. "It is very close to the finish so there is some gambling involved. For those that go for the prime, they could easily be counter attacked and someone else could win."
So Tetrick, a time trial specialist, attacked on the prime lap, won the $1,000 and kept going to win the race.
"As a time trialist, I knew I didn't want to sprint for the prime, but was able to take a solo flyer to snag it," she says. "Our tactic was to save our sprinter, but for me to go for a late move. It caught some of the other teams off guard because I kept riding after the prime, and then soloed in for the win!"
Tetrick, who said she will miss this year's event, won two stages of last year's ToAD: Downer and the Road America road race. This year she also won the prestigious Sea Otter Classic road race in April.
Growing women's racing is an important part of Tetrick's mission as a cyclist. The cycling community needs to add "sustainability and opportunity to the women's sport by providing equal prize money and media coverage."
This year on June 28 the best racers in the U.S. will again come to Wisconsin for ToAD. Will any of them be able to pull off the Downer Double? Or will Tetrick's feat stand forever?
The Ben's Prime Party starts around noon at the corner of Park and Hackett. Come join us!
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| Tetrick celebrates her win at Downer with chocolate milk. Milwaukee's Samantha Schneider took second. |
Typically, the race to the last corner of the annual criterium on Milwaukee's East Side is for the prime, and it is too much for a rider's body to recover in time for the final sprint to win the race.
But in last year's women's race, Alison Tetrick, racing for the Twenty16 Pro Cycling Team, pulled off a rare double.
"People have to think if they want to go for the prime or go for the win," she says. "It is very close to the finish so there is some gambling involved. For those that go for the prime, they could easily be counter attacked and someone else could win."
So Tetrick, a time trial specialist, attacked on the prime lap, won the $1,000 and kept going to win the race.
Tetrick, who said she will miss this year's event, won two stages of last year's ToAD: Downer and the Road America road race. This year she also won the prestigious Sea Otter Classic road race in April.Growing women's racing is an important part of Tetrick's mission as a cyclist. The cycling community needs to add "sustainability and opportunity to the women's sport by providing equal prize money and media coverage."
This year on June 28 the best racers in the U.S. will again come to Wisconsin for ToAD. Will any of them be able to pull off the Downer Double? Or will Tetrick's feat stand forever? The Ben's Prime Party starts around noon at the corner of Park and Hackett. Come join us!
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