For the 54th year, the Quad Cities will host bicycle races on Memorial Day. The Kwik Star Criterium will be held on Monday in the Village of East Davenport.
John Harrington from the Quad Cities Bicycle Club says 400 people competed last year and he's expecting at least that many or more this year. And already eight of the top ten professional women racers have registered.
"I think the main reason is that a couple of years ago our race director, Tom Schuler, made equal payouts for the men and the women. So we are probably the only race in the area and it's kind of rare in the U.S."
That means the winners of the top men's and women's professional races will be paid 4,000 dollars each. And the equal prizes extend down to the 15th place finishers.
After it started in Olde Towne in Moline, the Criterium moved to downtown Rock Island for 19 years, then to the Village of East Davenport in 2014.
And each year it's the final day of four days of bike racing in eastern Iowa - starting with the Burlington Road Races on Friday night, the Snake Alley Criterium in Burlington on Saturday, and the Melon City Criterium on Sunday in Muscatine.
