The streets of downtown Mount Pleasant were filled this weekend. Not with cars, but bicycles.

Beginning early Saturday morning, “Le Tour de Mont Pleasant” had a jam-packed day going from 8:30 a.m. to about 6 p.m. with different races for different divisions, from children to professionals.

Lisa Hadden, president and CEO of the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, said the event went well and she was overall happy with how it was going.

“It’s gone smoothly,” she said. “I’m pleased with the turnout. We have 250 to 300 volunteers. I would say we have at least 500 to 600 people around downtown (Saturday).”

Hadden said with the success she is seeing this year, it’s not hard to envision the event going on for years.

“We are planning on this every year, but we are going to make it bigger and better,” Hadden said.

Saturday was full of action, including a race by men in the pro categories racing downtown in a 75 minute plus 3 laps race.

With about 10 laps to go in the race Greg Christian, a member of the Panther team, took a commanding lead by about 10 seconds. But quickly, with about two laps left, the lead was reduced and eventually lost.

On the last lap, Ben Renkema came from nowhere to pull ahead of the pack and win the race.

Renkema, of the Kenda pro racing team, said said it was him team that helped him win it.

“Oh yeah, it’s great,” he told fans after he won. “We got a gap and held it tight through the corner.”

Ken Merrick was one person in the crowd, but he wasn’t there just to watch the race.

Merrick was there because his grandson, Kenny Boltshaw, rode in the youth under 10 race.

“They’re really putting on a show, it’s colorful,” said Merrick, a Mount Pleasant resident.

Merrick said he really admired the hard work and athleticism exhibited by the cyclists, as they were reaching speeds of around 30 mph during the 75 minute plus 3 laps professional race.

Ryan Meier, a Mount Pleasant junior, said it brings a different type of look to downtown.

“It’s an atmosphere that brings people out of their houses,” he said.

Meier said the races show people how hard professional cyclists have to work.

“It brings attention to cyclists,” he said. “People don’t realize how serious they are.”

Sunday brought the longest race of the weekend, which was the men’s professional 105-mile race, going throughout Isabella County. Also on Sunday, to add to the weekend, was seven races each going 33 miles.

Hadden said it gave people wanting to watch the races several opportunities, either to travel from town to town watching the 105-mile race or to stay in Mount Pleasant and wait for the action to come to them as the 33-mile races started consecutively 3 minutes after each other.

Graham Howard, a Grand Rapids professional bicyclist, won the 105-mile race on Sunday.

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E-mail the author: Eric Dresden