Tour of America's Dairyland ACC Preview
Written by: Zach Nehr
The lore of Downer Avenue has been whispered across generations of American cycling. Hundreds of European pros were said to have raced on the streets of Milwaukee, many of them looking for a fitness outlet after not being selected for the Tour de France. They lined up tens at a time, streaking down the neighborhood streets at more than 30 mph. The tail of the peloton was so long that if you were at the front of the race, you could see the back of the field rounding the corner ahead of you.
Over 200 racers took to the streets of Downer for one of the most iconic events in American crit racing. Some of them weren’t even interested in the race win – they came for the Super Prime. Once held between turns one and two, a faded line was placed across the road, the location of the Super Prime. That line meant nothing for 99 laps out of 100. But when the magical bell was rung at some point in the finale, everyone sprinted like their lives depended on it.
No one knew exactly how much each Super Prime was worth or when the bell would be rung, but most years, it was in the thousands. The world’s best crit racers would descend on Milwaukee, Wisconsin to race the famous Dorito-shaped course. The 90-degree Turn 1 wasn’t much to speak of, but the downhill into Turn 2 would raise the hair on your neck.
Plunging through the neighborhood, you would navigate the asphalt cracks to set up for Turn 2, a 120-degree right-hander that has seen more crashes than the stock market. The pavement is smooth, but the angle is tight. No matter how skilled of a bike handler you are, you have to scrub speed to make it out unscathed. What follows on the backstretch is a long and drawnout sprint all the way to Turn 3 and 4.
The final bend is more of a sweeper, one that you can pedal through if you line it up properly. Many pros have hit their pedals in this corner, others have taken it too far to the outside. Those who launch their sprint at this point have probably gone too early. Adrenaline takes over as the barriers narrow and the roar of the crowd squeezes you towards the finish line. By the time you cross the line, you’re setting up for Turn 1, and it’s time to repeat it all over again.
This is Downer Avenue at the Tour of America’s Dairyland.
Race #2 Preview: Tour of America’s Dairyland
ACC Race Day: June 27, 2026
Series Dates: June 18-28, 2026
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Once the dust settled after Tulsa Tough, the world’s best crit racers made their way to the Midwest for the Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD). While Tulsa was the explosive season opener, ToAD would be a completely different beast. Tulsa’s ACC race took place on the first night of the three-day competition, whereas ToAD’s ACC race is on the 10th day of 11 straight days of racing. That means there will be tired legs in Milwaukee, good for some riders but a nightmare for others.
We could see the strongest and most experienced riders come to the front, those who have handled 11 days of crit racing in a row. But you can never discount the young guns, those with a fire in their belly and a willingness to dive through the final corner faster than anyone thought possible. We will soon find out on June 27th with Race #2 of the American Crit Cup.
The Course – Downer Classic at the Tour of America’s Dairyland
The Café Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic p/b ISCorp is one of the most famous courses in crit racing. The 0.9-mile loop has remained the same for decades, beginning on Downer Avenue on the Upper East Side of Milwaukee. Just short of a mile, the triangle course is a bit longer than most criterium courses, making it easier to organize chases and team tactics.
However, a number of successful breakaways have held off the peloton in recent editions of the race, with some groups even lapping the field. The women’s and men’s ACC events will last 75 minutes each, plenty of time for attackers to establish a move, or for prime hunters to earn some cash. If it all comes back together for a field sprint, expect to see a long, single-file line entering the final sweeper. It’s a long way from Turn 4 to the finish, so look for sprinters all across the road and maybe even a bike throw to take the win.
The ACC Junior Series will take place on the six-corner Bay View course on Day 8 of the Tour of America’s Dairyland. Supported by Renaissance Financial, the Juniors will race around the bowtie-like course that hosts the Centraal Bay View Classic. Racing continues over the weekend with the USA Cycling Junior National Championships, separate from the ACC, which take place from June 27 to July 1 in the Greater Milwaukee Area.
The Atmosphere in Milwaukee
The Downer Classic is a course of two parts: the local business side and the residential neighborhood. It’s a stark contrast, one that can only be fully appreciated in person. On Downer Avenue, you have a city street lined with restaurants, coffee shops, jewelry stores, and even a movie theater. Hundreds of spectators make their way up the four-story parking garage on Downer for a birds-eye view of the race. The location is iconic, but the other side of the course is completely different.
The backside of the Downer Classic streaks through a residential neighborhood filled with dogs, kids, and grandmas. Most families plop folding chairs in their front lawn for the entire day, cheering on the racers from the Junior Girls at 10am to the Pro Men finish at 8:15pm. The backside of the course is where you go to take a deep breath and watch the racers go by. When you’re ready to head back to Downer for the beat-thumping party, you are only two blocks away.
Who Wins at the Tour of America’s Dairyland?
When Skylar Schneider rounded the final corner of the Blue Dome Crit at Tulsa Tough, she was hardly in the picture as Kendall Ryan sprinted to the line. But the L39ION of Los Angeles rider clawed her way back, pedal stroke by pedal stroke, and she won by inches with a perfectly timed bike throw. The Wisconsin-native will certainly be aiming for the win on home court, while Ryan will be seeking revenge.
Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing took it upon themselves to control the majority of the ACC race in Tulsa, but that control turned to chaos in the final few laps. They could adopt a different strategy in Milwaukee, or they might try to reassert dominance. Watch for Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing to take control, but for riders from HigherDOSE | Renova and Fearless Femme pb The Beasley Firm to try to steal the result at the last second.
In the men's race, expect an explosive race with attacks almost every lap. Hundreds of riders will be on the line at Downer, and many of them will want to win out of a breakaway. Field sprints have been hard to come by in recent years, but that’s exactly what series leaders DCC want for Dario Rapps. The German dominated the finish in Tulsa, beating Bryan Gomez and Jordan Parra to the line after a chaotic final lap. Rapps and Lucas Bourgoyne collided just before the penultimate corner, but they both kept it upright at nearly 40 mph.
The Downer Classic doesn’t feature tight corners so close to the finish, so we can expect a different type of sprint to unfold. In addition to those mentioned above, Justin Williams, Michael Garrison, and Marcos Mendez will be aiming for the top step of the podium.
Don’t forget about the sprint primes in the middle of each race. Not only are points awarded for the ACC Overall Standings, but there are also the Sprint and Team Classifications to contend with. At the Downer Classic, there will be even more primes on offer, sometimes in excess of $1,000 for a single prime. Here is everything that’s on the line at Race #2 of the ACC.
Follow the Tour of America's Dairyland through their free internet radio broadcast HERE.
What’s At Stake in the American Crit Cup
There are two overall leaders of the ACC – Skylar Schneider and Dario Rapps – who will be wearing the red jerseys from MUMU Apparel on the start line of ToAD. With only one race in the books, the overall lead is up for grabs if Schneider and Rapps don’t land on the top step of the podium.
The two leaders of the Davis Phinney Foundation Sprint Prime competition – Yarely Salazar and Ben Boroff – will wear the MUMU Apparel green jerseys as classification leaders. Salazar and Boroff each won the Davis Phinney Foundation Sprint Prime in Tulsa, and you can look out for another chance at the points partway through the Downer Ave crit. Watch for VeloVit Elite and Chaney Windows and Doors, two teams who will toe the line at every ACC race this season and fight for the green jersey. Last year’s Davis Phinney Foundation Sprint Prime winner, Owen Gillot, currently sits third in the classification.
Thousands of dollars in prize money will be awarded to the top team at the end of the ACC season, and Foundation Cycling New York have put themselves in the driver’s seat of the men’s team competition. They hold a commanding lead of 91 points over DCC who have just 56, but that could all change in a single round of racing.
HigherDOSE | Renova has the lead in a close-run women’s team competition, with a total of 72 points from Tulsa. Fearless Femme pb The Beasley Firm are in second with a total of 56 points, followed closely by Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing who have 54 points.
One of the most underrated aspects of the ACC is its Junior competition sponsored by Renaissance Financial, and there are a total of eight jerseys from MUMU Apparel up for grabs across four different categories. Finley Sonnemann leads the Men’s 15-16 series, while Bristol Alright leads the Women’s 15-16s. At the front of the Men’s 17-18 series is Julio Andres Sanchez Alvarado, with Margaret Tennent leading the Women’s 17-18 field.
The ACC Junior Series runs alongside the elite competition, but with the added nuance that the Juniors sometimes race on a different course than the pros. Supported by the largest sponsor of the ACC, Renaissance Financial, the Juniors will take on the Bay View Classic at ToAD, held two days before the elite races at Downer Ave.
There are also four stages of the Tour of America’s Dairyland that host a specific Junior series that is part of the USA Juniors Cup. Only the biggest and most prestigious Junior races in the country are included in this calendar, and ToAD features not one, but four races as a part of the series. This is one of, if not the, best development pathway for Juniors in the country. In addition to the ACC races and National Championships, you can expect to see the fastest juniors in the country lining up for the USA Juniors Cup at the Tour of America’s Dairyland.
For a detailed breakdown of the ACC series standings, check out the Pro Results and Junior Results.
The Big Picture: Storylines We’re Watching in the 2026 ACC Season
After each race, we’ll return to our season-long storylines, checking in on the world’s best crit racers
America vs The Rest of the World:
In 2025, the German rider Maurice Ballerstedt took the ACC Men’s title, while Swiss rider Aline Seitz took the women’s title. After one round of the ACC, another German is on top of the men’s standings in Dario Rapps, while American Skylar Schneider holds the lead in the women’s field. The top American in the men’s field is US National Champion Lucas Bourgoyne who sits in fourth overall.
Youth vs Veterans:
Experience is winning on the men’s side with the top three riders each being 31, 31, and 32 years old. Good news for those who think you slow down as soon as you hit your 30s. Dylan Haynes, who turns 19 in September, finished 9th in the first round of the ACC, an impressive performance from such a young rider. There is a much wider spread in the women’s field with the top 10 including riders between the ages of 22 and 40. At 27, Schneider is slightly younger than the average, but she brings a wealth of professional experience to an incredibly diverse ACC field.
Image credit to Dylan Haynes
The Gravel-Crit Crossover:
Tulsa Tough took place just six days after Unbound Gravel, the biggest gravel race in the world. There were a few riders who dared to line up for both events, racing 207 miles at Unbound on Saturday, followed by the Blue Dome Crit the following Friday night. While the podium finishers in Tulsa weren’t the same names as Unbound, there was one rider who found success in both races. Matt Wilson finished 28th at Unbound Gravel, washed off his gravel bike, put a pair of road wheels on, and won the Cry Baby Hill crit on the third day of Tulsa Tough. As we get deeper into the season, the overlap between road and gravel racing will continue as many riders try their hand at both disciplines.
Image credit to Kai Caddy
The Overall Title:
Consistency is key in the American Crit Cup, as every point adds up over the course of the season. One wrong move or ill-timed mechanical could seal a rider’s fate in the overall, and up next is the Downer Classic at the Tour of America’s Dairyland. While the race winners get the glory, keep an eye on the riders who consistently finish in the Top 5-10 at each ACC race. Those are the riders who will compete at the top of the overall standings and have the chance to take home the coveted ACC title at the end of the season.