The Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove, which Mayor Craig Johnson built into the Chicago region’s most prominent cycling event during its 8-year run, ceased operations after the 2013 event, with the mayor blaming USA Cycling and the International Cycling Union for problems with race dates.

Johnson, who each year upped the ante for the race with bigger purses, better races and bigger names, said that a decision by cycling’s governing bodies to extend the Tour of Utah’s dates put it in conflict with the Tour of Elk Grove, depriving the event of the opportunity to attract top riders.

“Therefore, after much thought and with a heavy heart, we are left no alternative but to cease the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove,” Johnson wrote in a letter also signed by Elk Grove Village trustees. “We have always promised that we will only run our cycling event at the highest level, and we are greatly disappointed in having to make this decision to end the race.”

The Elk Grove event drew dozens of top cyclists from across the world and hundreds of spectators to the village each year. Besides presenting elite-level cycling, the event served as a fundraiser for groups such as the Heart of a Marine Foundation, Elk Grove Rotary and Fallen Soldier Memorial Scholarships.

UCI officials and Tour of Utah officials encouraged Tour of Elk Grove organizers to find a new date, but Johnson rejected the idea.

“We have been the first weekend of August all the time,” he said, adding that the dates were selected to avoid conflicts with other major suburban events.

• This is one of 60 notes about Elk Grove Village history being published to mark the town’s anniversary.