More than 200 cyclists from across the country participated in the Tour of Lawrence, a three-day bike racing event sanctioned by USA Cycling, this weekend.

The event was a series of three bicycle races, including the Eldridge Hotel Street Sprints, the Downtown Criterium and the KU Campus Circuit Race. Bob Sanner, event director of the Tour, said the event showed how important biking was to the Lawrence community because the event was almost completely driven by volunteers.

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Tour of Lawrence

Photos from the inaugural Tour of Lawrence bike race

“The only way you can make cycling work at the moment is you need strong volunteers — a lot of them — and a selfless commitment to cycling,” Sanner said. “It won’t happen any other way.”

Carrie Mark, Red Wing, Minn. graduate student and spectator at the event, said she was impressed with the turnout for the race.

“I think it definitely says there are a lot of enthusiasts,” Mark said.

Jennifer Herrell-Rhoades, sprinter for Mercy Cycling Team, won the Tour of Lawrence Women’s street sprints.

Herrell-Rhoades said the Tour of Lawrence was a great event for the city.

“As cyclists, we love it. This is awesome. This is a great venue. Couldn’t ask for a better college town to do it in,” Herrell-Rhoades said. “We usually don’t get a crowd like this; this is awesome.”

Laura Murphy, Massillon, Ohio graduate student, raced in both the Criterium and KU campus race. Murphy said she had no idea about the Lawrence biking community before she came to the University and joined the KU Cycling team.

“You come into Lawrence and you see the signs that say it’s a bicycle friendly community,” Murphy said. “I was like ‘Ah, this will be really good.’”

The Lawrence biking community included those who rode bikes and those interested in biking, Murphy said.

“There’s a lot of people who might not ride bikes, but they’re a sponsor for KU Cycling, they’re interested in it, they’re fans,” Murphy said.

Murphy said cycling was her outlet for the rigors of graduate school life.

“It’s great to just take off from working on papers and stuff — hop on my bike, meet up with folks who ride and go on one of the routes,” Murphy said.

Murphy said she worked to get more women at the University involved in racing.

“There are a lot of women that ride, definitely, but not a lot of women compete,” Murphy said. “In the beginning it’s a little intimidating, especially because it’s such a male dominated sport.”

Some of the things Murphy said she did to get women interested included coming out on training rides and volunteering at biking events to see how things worked.

Murphy said that hosting big events in the past, such as the USA Cycling collegiate nationals, helped to make the Tour of Lawrence a reality.

“This is huge. To be able to combine it with the Fourth of July weekend, which will get more people out, more people seeing the race,” Murphy said. “I think it will only improve the cycling community and awareness of cyclists on the road, which is also important.”

Murphy said she hoped Lawrence would continue to host the event in the future.

David Neidinger, St.Joseph, Mo., junior and president of KU Cycling, also raced in both the Criterium and the KU campus race. Neidinger said the amount of support at the event showed how strong the biking community was in Lawrence.

“This is the first year, and look how many people are here. It’s just incredible,” Neidinger said. “Lawrence definitely does have the interest, the excitement to put on an event like this one.”

Neidinger said he had been biking for 10 years, but this was his first year racing. He said one of the main reasons he came to the University was because he wanted to be involved with a cycling club. He said cycling was one of the most important parts of his life.

“I’m trying to really train to become a decent racer,” Neidinger said. “It takes a lot of commitment and dedication.”

— — Edited by Justin Hilley