Tour of America's Dairyland lines up two new races for 2012

The Tour of America's Dairyland has added races in East Troy and the Town of Erin for its fourth year of professional bike racing.

Similar to its predecessors on the steep hills near Holy Hill, the Town of Erin Road Race will be a major challenge for the pro and amateur riders.

The course will be a little mover 10 miles, and have 355 feet of climbing per lap, according to series director Jack Hirt. The start and finish will be at The Basilica of the National Shrine at Holy Hill.

In East Troy, riders will test their riding skills on a technical, six-corner loop around the downtown square.

The new races round out the schedule of 11 events starting with the Shorewood Criterium Cycling Classic on June 21. The series wraps up in Madison on July 1.

Four of the outings, starting with the Sheboygan Harbor Centre Bike Race on June 28, will be part of the USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar. Top teams and riders from around the country will compete for more than $130,000 in prize money.

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board has signed on as the primary sponsor of the series, run by Midwest Cycling Series LLC.

"We continue to be able to offer our racers challenging new courses, improved scoring systems, huge payouts, bigger crowds, participation in the NCC, and so much more...because of the continued incredible support Tour of America's Dairyland receives from Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board," said ToAD co-founder Bill Ochowicz..

"We're incredibly grateful for Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's renewed presenting sponsorship of ToAD, and it's something we have never taken for granted. This year ToAD is going to be off the charts."