Combining Professional Cycling, Technology and Community Fun at the Curiosity Lab Criterium

Curiosity Lab continues to generate opportunities for the City of Peachtree Corners. Peachtree Corners will be hosting the Curiosity Lab Criterium bike race on Wednesday, April 26.

Within professional cycling, there are three types of cycling races: road races, time trials and criteriums. The most popular and well-known of the three is the road race. Like the famous Tour de France, this format has riders racing from point A to point B on a linear course.

The Criterium is a closed race on city streets, laid out in a looping course. This race allows spectators to watch riders pass by many times, instead of hoping to catch these athletes once.

Professional cyclists will be competing in the race as a part of Speed Week, a series of races throughout Georgia. Speed Week also features the Athens Orthopedic Twilight Criterium, part of the American Criterium Cup, a national series of criteriums. Former professional cyclist Frankie Andreu will be the announcer for some of these exciting races.

Both professional and amateur cyclists will be racing in the Curiosity Lab Criterium in this day-long event. Starting with amateurs and moving into professional cyclists, there will be six races throughout the course of the day. Also, there will be a kids’ race series along a 100-yard flat course in front of city hall.

VRU technology exhibition

Another element of the Curiosity Lab Criterium is the testing and implementation of brand new VRU technology by Spoke. VRU, or vulnerable road users, include pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles and e-scooters.

Spoke has recently partnered with Qualcomm, BMC and Audi to work on this new technology. The company’s goal is to prevent VRU-based road incidents and increase the safety of non-car users.

Spoke is developing a device that sends a signal to all surrounding cars letting drivers know the location of VRUs. Most new cars have built-in obstacle avoidance technology but lack the ability to see around corners or see objects out of view.

“This is game-changing connectivity for both safety and for the mobility experience overall,” said Jarrett Wendt, Spoke CEO. “For the first time, Spoke will provide dedicated hardware and software… that connects all users anonymously to each other and to the infrastructure.”

Spoke was looking for a testing environment for this new technology and found Curiosity Labs. City Manager Brian Johnson met with Spoke representatives to create an opportunity to test this technology.

Combining sports, technology and community

On Wednesday of Speed Week, racing teams will come together on the Autonomous Vehicle Test Track in front of City Hall. Spectators will get a chance to see riders pass four times in each lap.

On race day, there will be food trucks at City Hall, as well as vendors and bike manufacturers featured for this mini festival. Spoke will also be showcasing their brand new technology for people to experience and learn more about.

“It’s just a great place to see something that not all cities can set up,” said Brian Johnson. “We’re going to have cutting-edge technology that can’t be showcased anywhere else because our city streets are set up to do this. We’re uniquely positioned, which is why all these big companies want our location.”

Special event information

On Wednesday, April 26, the Curiosity Labs Criterium on the city streets of Peachtree Corners. The series begins at 3:30 p.m. with the women’s amateur division and concludes with the men’s professional division at 8:10 p.m.

Cyclists interested in participating in the race can register at https://www.bikereg.com/59731. The deadline for online registration is Monday, Apr 24, at 12:00 p.m. ET.

The whole family is invited to enjoy the racing, food trucks and exhibits featuring new cycling and safety technologies. Little ones should bring their bikes to take part in the age based kids’ races at 5:45 p.m.

There will also be one-of-a-kind Curiosity Lab Cycling Club jerseys, t-shirts and hats for sale at the event. Parking information and other event details will be released closer to the event.