After a buildup of three years, the Maryland Cycling Classic supported by UnitedHealthcare finally breaks onto the international stage on Sunday, September 4, now the only UCI ProSeries event of the 2022 season in the United States. It will serve as a leadup to a trio of UCI races in North America, with a pair of Canadian WorldTour races, the Grand Prix Québec and Grand Prix Montréal, to follow a week later.
Organisers have been more than patient as the inaugural one-day race was cancelled in the first two efforts due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The last time a prominent UCI event was held in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US was in 2015 with Richmond, Virginia hosting the UCI Road World Championships.
The third time is truly the charm for Baltimore, known as Charm City, which will see four WorldTour squads at the start with Grand Tour leadership.
The favourites include Tour de France stage winners Michael Matthews and Dylan Groenewegen for Team BikeExchange-Jayco, two-time Giro d’Italia points classification winner Giacomo Nizzolo for Israel-Premier Tech, top-US rider from the 2022 Tour de France, 13th place, Neilson Powless of EF Education-EasyPost and 2019 junior World Champion Quinn Simmons with Trek-Segafredo.
US-based ProTeam Human Powered Health brings a stacked squad to match power with the WorldTour squads, and set to impress their sponsor connections in the area including the start in Sparks, Maryland on the property of Kelly Benefits.
With most of the teams racing abroad and a handful of small squads focused on the few races remaining in North America, there seemed to be no clear-cut strategies for the inaugural Maryland race, as many of the recon rides took place on Friday morning, or scheduled for Saturday. The race will cover 193.7 kilometres (120.4 miles) with the final 30 miles using a circuit in downtown Baltimore for a finish near the iconic Inner Harbor.
The route entices opportunities for a breakaway but the finishing circuits are sure to allow the sprinters’ teams to gain the spotlight. Read below for the 8 riders to watch at the 2022 Maryland Cycling Classic.
The race route has some rollers to the north around Prettyboy Reservoir but the climbs are not long so suit a versatile rider, and one with a strong kick like Matthews. If his teammate doesn’t have the legs after the journey through horse country in northern Maryland, look for the Australian at the front. He comes out of this year’s Tour with a stage win and two…
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