The National Racing Calendar (NRC) for 2010 was announced today by USA Cycling. The calendar features 27 events in what will be its 14th season, and has added three new events, the Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix, the Richmond Twilight Grand Prix and the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic. Missing for 2010 are the Amgen Tour of California Women’s race and the Hanes Park Classic.
The schedule is down seven races from last year’s initial calendar, with the 2010 NRC featuring 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.
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.
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