The ever-evolving bike culture in Chicago can now add another title to its list as the No. 1 bike racing criterium on the USA Cycling national calendar.

USA Cycling, a sport bicycle racing promoter and race administrator, sanctions 2,500 competitive bike races but only hand-picks 30 to 35 races to be part of the national calendar, said Andrea Smith, spokesperson for USA Cycling.

The Chicago Criterium bike race, which debuted on July 27, 2008, in Grant Park, was rated the No. 1 tier four race among single day competitions on Feb. 11 by USA Cycling.

“To achieve that in the first year is a testament to how well Chicago can do things,” said Randy Warren, 46, a local racer, bike racing coach and technical adviser to the Chicago Criterium.

The Chicago Criterium races use an enclosed loop-shaped course, measuring approximately 1.2 miles. The course starts at Buckingham Fountain on Columbus Drive, heading north to Jackson Boulevard, then west to Michigan Avenue, south toward East Balbo Avenue and ending back in front of the fountain.

The Criterium races are free and open to the public. There are several race heats divided by skill level.

Criterium races are typically shorter, but high speeds and fast turns raise the intensity, Warren said.

The criteria for the Criterium ranking includes course quality, venue quality, community involvement, timing and scoring, management experience, sponsorship, budget, medical plan, media, bid presentation and prize list, according to USA Cycling.

Chicago scored highest with its prize list, Smith said. Last year the total prize money handed out in the various racing categories was $40,000.

Last year there were close to 1,200 participants and 5,000 spectators, said Anne Davis, Bike Chicago coordinator of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, which oversees the Chicago Criterium.

A big draw of the Criterium for cyclists is its location because it’s on a course cyclists usually don’t get to ride freely, Warren said.

“The backdrop, the scenery, the excitement and the race was extremely well run,” he said.

The planning for it spanned a few years with the collaboration of the Active Transportation Alliance, Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Police Department and individual technical advisers.

“We did it because we saw a need for hosting a bicycling event in Chicago,” Davis said. “We have a world-class marathon, world-class triathlon, but at the time we didn’t have a cycling race.”

The need also came from the growing bike culture in Chicago, said Warren, who was involved in the cycling culture in California for 15 years before he moved to Chicago in 2000.

“I was first worried because the culture in California was so strong,” he said. “I’ve been really pleasantly surprised.”

Increased fuel prices have led people to seek out alternative modes of transportation, cycling being a big draw in Chicago.

“It was amazing to see how many cyclists would be on Milwaukee Avenue heading into the city,” Davis said, who used to commute by bike before moving.

Planning of the course did not have many challenges, Davis said. There were potential sites on the North Side for the Criterium, but organizers eventually settled for Grant Park. A big drawing point was the scenery, but the biggest problem was setting a date for the race, Davis said.

Promotion depended on word of mouth by the cycling community. Due to last year’s positive outcome, this year’s race is expected to be bigger than last year, Davis said.

“Already you can feel a vibe about it, and you can feel it with people in the cycling community,” she said.

The next Criterium is July 26. To participate, one has to first register with USA Cycling and then with the Chicago Criterium at ChicagoCriterium.US/. A registration date has not yet been set.

“I think it’s going to keep getting bigger and bigger and become a major sporting event in Chicago,” Warren said.