In nine days, Wisconsin residents will know if the "horribly hilly" climbs in western Dane County will put Olympian cyclists to the test in 2016.
The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to choose a host city for the 2016 Olympics on Oct. 2 in Copenhagen. If Chicago is chosen, mountain biking and road cycling events would be held in and around Madison and Mount Horeb.
Other cities vying for the bid are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Madrid, Spain; and Tokyo -- each of which has strengths and weaknesses.
Olympics experts say Chicago has a strong bid, but also faces a handful of obstacles, including an overloaded commuter rail system and uncertain financial backing. And an IOC report earlier this month noted that the two cycling events proposed for Wisconsin are about 160 and 180 miles from Chicago.
"I'm not aware of road cycling being held so far away from a host city before," said Ed Hula, editor and founder of Around the Rings, a Web-based publication that has covered Olympic events since 1990.
"It's usually an event that shows off the host city," he said. "(But) as long as the move has the blessing of the sport federation, it's usually OK."
Officials with the Chicago 2016 bid committee said it collaborated with cycling experts, including the International Cycling Union, to "identify courses that are technically challenging and conducive to elite sport competition."
Chicago's bid also calls for equestrian and shooting events to be held outside of the city.
Olympic venues accommodate geography
Victor Matheson, an economics professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts who has studied the economic impact of Olympics, said Madison's distance from the host city shouldn't hurt Chicago's chances.
"It is quite common for the Olympics ... to move their venues around a little bit to accommodate geography," he said. "That is not something that should significantly hurt the bid whatsoever."
In fact, Madrid is proposing to hold the sailing event in Valencia -- about 225 miles away.
Having the cycling races outside of Chicago would allow "for a great spectator experience during the Games," Doug Arnot, senior vice president of venues and games operations for the Chicago 2016 bid committee said in an e-mail. "We feel the natural terrain found in Madison will exceed their expectations and make for an ideal competitive environment."
Larry Bierke, Mount Horeb village administrator, said over the last few months he's discussed what impact the distance might have on the bid with representatives from Chicago, but it doesn't seem to be a concern.
"Someone who is visiting to observe the Olympics may appreciate getting out of the city," Bierke said.
And not all the Olympic cycling events are proposed for Dane County.
The track cycling competition would take place in a custom-built velodrome in Chicago and "that's really the big spectator draw," Hula said.
High-speed rail possibility
Dane County officials say they've waited to nail down logistics on how athletes and spectators would get from Chicago to Mount Horeb until the bid is secured.
"By (2016) I'm hopeful that the federal government and the state of Wisconsin can put together high-speed rail," Bierke said.
Cars will not be allowed at the races, so people would have to be shuttled to the courses, he said.
As of Tuesday, President Barack Obama was not scheduled to attend the meeting in Copenhagen and instead is sending first lady Michelle Obama.
As the decision nears, experts say despite some obstacles, Chicago has several things in its favor.
Chicago is in the right time zone to sell television time in both the United State and Europe, Matheson said.
Plus, "I can't help but think that Obama is helping the bid," he said.
