17-10-2009 05:27:52

Featuring 27 events and nearly one million dollars in overall prize payouts, the 2010 National Racing Calendar (NRC) was announced today by USA Cycling. The NRC enters its 14th season as the nation’s premier Pro-Am men’s and women’s road cycling circuit and will visit 22 states from March through September, highlighting the United States’ best domestic teams and athletes.

Down seven races from last year’s initial calendar, the 2010 NRC will feature eight men’s-only and two women’s-only events. The remaining 17 races will include both men’s and women’s divisions.

The calendar kicks off with the long-running Redlands Bicycle Classic, March 25-28. This year’s Redlands Bicycle Classic features $45,000 in total prize money and is poised to once again mark the unofficial start of the bike racing season in North America.

After Redlands the calendar will head down the Pacific coast to scenic Dana Point, California for the men’s-only Dana Point Grand Prix on April 11. The calendar’s first stand-alone criterium, Dana Point is also the first of 14 consecutive weeks of NRC racing.

The calendar will head south and east on April 17 as many of the nation’s sprint specialists contest the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Ala. April 28 – May 2, one of the peloton’s favorite stage races, the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, N.M., will return. Another popular stage race, the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas, will follow on May 6-10.

The NRC will head to the northeast for the next couple of weeks; first to the Wilmington Grand Prix and the Kelly Cup, May 22nd and 23rd, then on to the new Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix (May 26) in New Jersey before moving over to Somerville for the nation’s oldest bicycle race, the Tour of Somerville on May 31. One of 15 criteriums on the calendar, the Richmond Twilight Grand Prix will take place just to the south in Virginia on June 3.

With the second-biggest prize list on offer at nearly $115,000, the three-day omnium of criteriums, Tulsa Tough will take place June 4-6 in Oklahoma.

Next up will be the richest one-day women’s race on the calendar and arguably the most prestigious single-day event for women in the U.S., the Liberty Classic will take over the streets of Philadelphia on June 6. The Clarendon Cup, a road race, will go off June 12 in Arlington, Va., just ahead of the Tour de Winghaven, now both a men’s and women’s NRC event, in St. Louis on June 13.

The peloton will next move to the Midwest for the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota, June 16-20.

After a brief break from racing another fan-favorite, the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix will return in California on June 27.

Running over its traditional spot during the Fourth of July weekend, the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts is scheduled for July 2-5. The Two Bridges Criterium, formerly known as the Marion Classic, will also take place over the holiday weekend followed by the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic on July 10, both in the mid-west.

After a little rest, the peloton will head west for the infamous Boise Twilight Criterium on July 17 and the Cascade Cycling Classic, a six-day stage race in Bend, Ore. July 20-25.

Attention will then shift to Illinois for the men’s-only Chicago Criterium on July 25 and the three-day Tour of Elk Grove, July 30-August 1. Slightly up from last year’s $150,000 mark, the Tour of Elk Grove’s $155,000 purse is the calendar’s richest.


Racing next heads to North Carolina for the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational on Aug. 7 in downtown Charlotte.

After an open weekend, the men’s-only stage race, the Tour of Utah will take place Aug. 17-22. The following weekend the peloton heads to Upstate New York for the Chris Thater Memorial in Binghamton, Aug. 28-29.

The calendar then concludes with the women’s portion only of the U.S. 10K Classic in Atlanta on Sept. 6.

At the conclusion of the 2009 NRC, Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell) and Alison Powers (Boulder, Colo./Team Type I) earned their first NRC crowns. Team titles went to the Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking-Light Pro Cycling Team on the men’s side and Team TIBCO on the women’s.

In conjunction with the 2010 NRC, every race promoter whose bid was accepted will be invited to the second-annual NRC Promoters Summit in Colorado Springs. The summit will be held in conjunction with a mountain bike promoters summit on November 13-15, 2009.

Additional 2010 NRC Notes & Observations:

Of the 27 events on the 2010 NRC, 15 are criteriums and eight are multi-day stage rages. The calendar also features two road races, one circuit race and one omnium.

The calendar features three newly added events compared to the eight new races on last year’s initial 2009 NRC. The Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix, the Richmond Twilight Grand Prix and the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic are all first time NRC events for 2010.

The 2010 NRC features 17 events that will offer both men’s and women’s racing. The calendar also features two women’s-only events (the Liberty Classic and the U.S. 10K Classic) and eight men’s-only events (the Dana Point Grand Prix, the Kelly Cup, the Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix, the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, the Boise Twilight Criterium, the Chicago Criterium, the Tour of Elk Grove and the Tour of Utah).

The overall prize list for the 2010 NRC is $981,310.00, down nearly $400,000 from last year’s initial NRC which included seven more events. The 2009 NRC however lost seven events and a total of nearly $250,000 of that prize money. Of the 2010 total, $719,000.00 is up for grabs to the men, while the overall women’s purse is $262,310.00.

With $155,000 in prize money on the line, the men’s-only Tour of Elk Grove is not only the richest men’s race on the 2010 NRC, but also the richest race overall.

With $39,000 up for grabs, Tulsa Tough offers the largest women’s prize purse.

One women’s race on the 2010 NRC is also on the UCI international calendar - the Liberty Classic. Its male counterpart, the Philadelphia International Championship, is also on the UCI international calendar and is slated to be a part of the 2010 USA Cycling Professional Tour to be announced shortly.

The NRC includes four Category-1 events – Tulsa Tough, the Liberty Classic, the Tour de Leelanau, the Nature Valley Grand Prix and the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational.

For more information on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar visit usacycling.org/nrc.

2010 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar

March 25-28: Redlands Bicycle Classic - Redlands, CA www.redlandsclassic.com
April 11: Dana Point Grand Prix - Dana Point, CA www.danapointgrandprix.com
April 17: Sunny King Criterium - Anniston, AL www.sunnykingcriterium.com
April 28-May 5: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Silver City, NM www.tourofthegila.com
May 6-10: Joe Martin Stage Race - Fayetteville, AR www.joemartinstagerace.com
May 22: Wilmington Grand Prix - Wilmington, DE www.wilmgrandprix.com
May 23: Kelly Cup - Baltimore, MD www.bikejam.org
May 26: Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix - Basking Ridge, NJ www.libertycycleinc.com
May 31: Tour of Somerville - Somerville, NJ www.tourofsomerville.org
June 3: Richmond Twilight Grand Prix - Richmond, VA www.richmondtwilightgp.com
June 4-6: Tulsa Tough - Tulsa, OK www.tulsatough.com
June 6: Liberty Classic - Philadelphia, PA www.procyclingtour.com
June 12: Clarendon Cup - Arlington, VA www.arlingtonsports.org
June 13: Tour de Winghaven - St. Louis, MO www.tourdewinghaven.com
June 16-20: Nature Valley Grand Prix - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN www.naturevalleygrandprix.com
June 27: Manhattan Beach Grand Prix - Manhattan Beach, CA www.mbgp.com
July 2-5: Fitchburg Longsjo Classic - Fitchburg, MA www.longsjo.com
July 3: Two Bridges Criterium (Marion Classic) - Marion, IN www.marionclassic.com
July 10: Meijer Grand Cycling Classic - Grand Rapids, MI www.grcyclingclassic.com
July 17: Boise Twilight Criterium - Boise, ID www.boisetwilightcriterium.com
July 20-25: Cascade Classic - Bend, OR www.breakawaypromotions.com
July 25: Chicago Criterium - Chicago, IL www.chicagocriterium.us
July 30-Aug. 1: Tour of Elk Grove - Elk Grove, IL www.tourofelkgrove.com
Aug. 7: Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium - Charlotte, NC www.charlottecriterium.org
Aug. 18-22: Tour of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT www.breakawaypromotions.com
Aug. 28-29: 1.2 Chris Thater Memorial - Binghamton, NY www.bcstopdwi.com
Sept. 6: US 10K - Atlanta, GA www.us10k.org

www.usacycling.org