Georgetown planning bike race in May

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - The streets of downtown Georgetown will transformed into a race course for 800 cyclists and 5,000 spectators for the inaugural Georgetown Grand on May 19 and May 20.

Professional and Olympic cyclists and bike racers from across the country are expected to compete in a what the city describes as a closed-circuit race, or a "criterium. "

The Georgetown Grand will be staged by Holland Racing. The one-mile course is sanctioned by USA Cycling, the nation's official competitive cycling organization.

"Because it's usually on a shorter circuit, you can pack in a crowd and have a festival atmosphere, which is what we designed with the Georgetown Grand," said Andrew Willis, president of Holland Racing.

Professional cyclists expected to compete in the Georgetown Grand include:

• David Wenger, current U.S. elite criterium champion, on Super Squadra Team
• Heath Blackgrove, former Olympian from New Zealand, on Elbowz Yamaha  Cycling Team
• Brant Speed, current Texas state elite time trial champion
• Jen McRae, 2008 U.S. pro women's national criterium champion
• Stefan Rothe from Germany, current Texas state road race champion
• Ian Dille, currently ranked 5th in U.S. in criterium Cat 1, on Super Squadra Team