WorldTour level EF Education-EasyPost and Trek-Segafredo are the first eight teams confirmed to participate at the second edition of the Maryland Cycling Classic, set for September 3.
Quinn Simmons, winner of stage 3 at this year's Vuelta a San Juan, is expected to lead the charge for Trek-Segafredo. However, EF Education-EasyPost had not confirmed any riders at this early date, including last year’s third-place finisher Neilson Powless.
“I’m already looking forward to being back in Maryland. It’s a great event for me and I return with high motivation. I’m not satisfied with the result from last year, so hopefully we’ll be back in the fight for the top step of the podium this year,” said Simmons, a native of Colorado who finished eighth overall and won the King of the Mountains jersey in 2022.
ProTeams Human Powered Health and Novo Nordisk are confirmed to line up again as well as four Continental-level teams - L39ION of Los Angeles and Hagens Berman Axeon from the US, Toronto Hustle from Canada and Team Medellin-EPM from Colombia.
The inaugural UCI 1.Pro one-day race, which will repeat as the highest ranked one-day race for men on the US calendar in 2023, was won by Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech).
He outsprinted Nickolas Zukowsky (Human Powered Health) and Powless at the line after 196.6km of racing in northern Maryland and downtown Baltimore. From a select group of six riders at the front of the race, Trek-Segafredo’s Toms Skujinš was fourth and the EF Education duo of Andrea Piccolo and Magnus Cort trailed for fifth and sixth, respectively.
US road veterans Robin Carpenter and Kyle Murphy are expected to participate again, both finishing in the top 20 last year, and this time as part of the L39ION of Los Angeles squad.
“This race represents a reversal of the latest trend of disappearing U.S. road events, which I know is greeted with pleasure and hope by the overall community. Last year's course delivered a surprisingly difficult and dynamic race that caught many racers by surprise and led to an exciting finale throughout the packed streets of downtown Baltimore," Carpenter said.
"I’m looking forward to seeing even more spectators out on course and more racers targeting the event as a goal.”
Equal prize purses for UCI stage racing in US
For the first time in the Tour of the Gila’s 36-year history, equal prize money will be provided for the elite women and men, the five-day stage race starting next week, April 26-30.
Jack Brennan, race director for the New Mexico race, said donated funds made the difference to boost the total prize purse to $35,350, which matches the payout at the Walmart Joe Martin Stage Race.
One year ago event sponsor Walmart stepped up to increase the prize money for equal payouts at the Joe Martin Stage Race, the only other UCI stage race remaining on the US calendar the past few years and scheduled for May 18-21.
“We’ve been wanting to make this happen - and go above and beyond the UCI requirement - and now we’re finally able to do it. It’s been a Tour of the Gila goal from the race’s beginning,” Brennan said.
In October of 2022, the two owners of race sponsor Gila Hike & Bike, Martyn Pearson and Alex Olsen, died in a car crash as they were headed to Albuquerque for a mountain bike race. Funds raised to commemorate the lives of Pearson and Olsen made the equal payouts at the Tour of Gila possible.
There are two other UCI stage races in North America this season, the Tour de Beauce in Canada from June 14-18, back after a three-year hiatus, and the Subway 3 - Stage Race in Antigua and Barbuda from August 19-20. Neither race has provided details about prize purses and fields for this year.
NCL Cup switches dates and venue for Atlanta
Organisers of the newly-launched National Cycling League confirmed the NCL Cup would still be held in Atlanta, Georgia, but changes to the date and venue would delay the appearance from May until late August.
Originally scheduled for May 14 in the downtown area of the Georgia capitol, the Atlanta Invitational will now take place on Sunday, August 20, one week after the Denver, Colorado contest, set for Sunday, August 13. The fourth and final race of the series in Washington, D.C. is scheduled to take place September 17.
The Porsche Experience Center Atlanta has been confirmed by organisers as the venue for the third stop of the NCL Cup. The complex is part of Porsche’s North American headquarters, which is located eight miles south of the downtown area. It offers two motor vehicle road courses, a 1.6-mile south track and a 1.3-mile handling circuit on the west side, that serve for driver development and automotive enthusiast experiences.
The opening round of the NCL Cup was held April 8 in Miami Beach, Florida, the Denver Disruptors dominating the women’s and men’s criteriums to take the lead over the Miami Nights, second overall, and the combo Goldman Sachs ETFS (women) and Texas Roadhouse Cycling p/b VQ Labs (men) squad, in third.
