The 49th Annual Criterium race was held in the Village of East Davenport for the first time this Memorial Day.
Local businesses were excited to host the race and the crowds on Sunday, and they hope the race will continue to be held there.
"We're really glad they came here I think it provides it with a different venue with the historic neighborhoods to kinda pedal through with the hills going up and down and the tight turns, it seems like it's a lot of fun," said Tom Lagomarcino, owner of Lagomarcino's.
Lagomarcino has been in the village for 17 years. He said he's seen a lot of change, but he'd like to see the improvements move a bit faster.
"It's a slow process and so I think it'll take time to really make it a vibrant district but we're really pleased the direction that it's going," said Lagomarcino. "I think we're getting in a better place. I think the street scaling has been good a lot of the storefronts are being picked up."
The Village has seen some improvements over the years such as repaving streets and a few new bars and businesses, but locals are hoping for more small shops to open up in the future.
"It's one step at a time but it's been a big improvement in terms of the types of businesses we can attract down here and an event like the Criterium will only lead to bigger and better things down the road," said Paul Schnell, President of the Village of East Davenport Business Association.