Downtown Athens has never had a problem attracting people with its bright lights, booze and beautiful people.

But this weekend fans and families will pour into the area for some wholesome, family entertainment when Twilight Criterium, the nation’s oldest continuous nighttime cycling race, comes to the Classic City for the 28th time.

The annual festivities are more than just a sporting event for both the Athens and cycling communities.

“It’s still the most exciting crit in the country,” said Chris Frederick, a professional cyclist on the AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork team. “It has the largest crowds and the loudest fans you’ll ever find. It’s helped the whole area in becoming a hotbed of cycling.”

The men’s criterium consistently has drawn over 30,000 spectators in recent years, and has become an Athens event outdrawn only by Georgia football games.

Frederick, a 36-year-old from Davie, Fla., has been a pro since 2005 and will race in his ninth Twilight this weekend. His team is just one of many now based in Athens, a development he credits primarily to Twilight.

But the weekend is not all about the pros, with festivities that also include amateur and children’s races for both sexes as well as music, movies and parades. “It was super cool and unlike any other race I’ve ever done,”

Thom Shaffer, a sophomore from Kennesaw, said of his first Twilight experience as an amateur last year.

“It’s a bigger deal than most people and students realize.”

Shaffer, who started out as a triathlete before switching to cycling and the Georgia team three years ago, also says the annual event draws a lot of people unfamiliar with cycling into the sport.

“I know a lot of guys that this was their introduction to the sport,” he said of Twilight. “They didn’t really know anything about it until they came to Georgia and Athens and got really excited about it.”

With a start/finish line at the corner of College Avenue and Clayton Street, participants in each of the weekend’s eight races will follow a one-kilometer course that circles around Clayton, Lumpkin, Washington and Thomas Streets.

The men’s pro criterium will complete 80 laps in a race that is an annual fast-paced blur under the lights of downtown Athens.

“The (amateur) qualifying race was really dangerous, with a lot of crashes because everyone is trying to qualify,” Shaffer said. “But at night it’s just the complete opposite and so cool because it’s under the lights.”

While riding with pros is a rare occasion during the weekend, Twilight offers both amateurs and fans a close-up brush with stardom.

“Cycling is a sport where you get to get so close to the best,” Shaffer said.

This weekend, Athens again will play host to the event that cycling journal VeloNews calls “The Criterium not to miss,” and it promises to be thrilling time for Athenians and visitors of all sorts.

Frederick best sums up the weekend in one phrase: “This really is the best crit in the country.”