One Day Until Super Prime Super Party!

On Saturday, June 28, the Downer Avenue neighborhood erupts in a bike race known as the ISCorp Downer Classic. It's a full-on all-day party.

And the biggest party by far is the Ben's Cycle Super Prime Party. For $25, you get a wristband that entitles you to as much food and drink as you need, plus a super-awesome t-shirt designed by our very own Steve Tiber. 

We'll use the money we raise at the party to give "significant amounts of cash" to the winner of the men's and women's primes, the rider who wins a particular lap during the race. Last year, Ben's handed out $1,000 to the women's winner, and we hope to double that this year!

Vince on his trike

Finally, one of the highlights of the event is the annual tricycle race, pitting area shop owners in a bitter contest. This year, Vince invited special celebrity guest Scott Ford, defenseman for the Milwaukee Admirals, to ride a specially-fabricated tricycle. 

It's going to be off the hook!

Schedule of Events:
Noon-ish   Ben's Super Prime Party begins
5 p.m.       Pro Women's Race
6:30-ish    Trike Race
7 p.m.       Pro Men's Race
9-ish         Ben's Super Prime Party limps home.

Are You Ready for the Super Prime Party???

Just six more days. 




That's all you have to get ready for the IS Corp Downer Classic, or better known as the race for the Ben's Super Prime! 

Ben's Cycle hosts a giant party Saturday, June 28 from roughly noon to around 9 p.m. at the corner of Hackett and Park Street on Milwaukee's East Side. It is one of the biggest cycling parties in the country. 

And you are invited to join thousands of your closest new friends at the Downer race. 



The pro women's race is at 5 p.m., the famous trike race with local bike shop owners, including our own Vince Hanoski, and other celebrities is around 6:30, and the pro men's race at 7. 



For $25, you get a wristband that allows you to eat and drink your fill. And the $25 goes directly to funding the Ben's Super Prime for both the men's and women's pro races. 

This year, Ben's has committed to significantly increasing the women's prime from $1,000 to as much as we can raise from the party. 

The wristbands are available at the party at any time. 


In a criterium bike race, which goes around a closed course on city streets, racers who win certain laps are awarded prizes, often cash from sponsors. At the Downer race, the Ben's Super Prime is awarded on a secret lap. Only Vince and Brett know the lap number. And as previous winners have said, the size of the prime changes the race tactics.

So come join the fun and support pro men's and women's cycling at its best. Saturday, June 28, from around noon to around nine p.m. Racing starts with junior events at 10 a.m.

Tetrick Did the Downer Double at Last Year's Women's Race

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. 

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. 

"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!