"This is the hippest rock-star crit in the country," says 2007 pro-division champ Mark Hekman. "It's at night, the crowd is ten people deep, there are lots of wrecks, and the atmosphere's electric." Athens is small, so hotels fill up with cyclists and spectators (book early) and parking downtown is scarce (ride from your hotel). If you make it through the qualifier, on a mellow, azalea-lined neighborhood course, you'd better have your pack-riding skills polished. You'll pound 20 laps on the same kilometer-long downtown loop the pros ride—including 90-degree, beer-slicked turns in fields of 100 or more. The scariest corner—Clayton and Lumpkin—is also the best place to watch the carnage that is an integral part of crit racing. $30; athenstwilight.com