Maryland Cycling Classic Route Combines Hilly County Terrain And Tight Twists Of City Streets, Organizers Say
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Organizers of the Maryland Cycling Classic on Tuesday revealed the course for the bicycling race, a route that starts in Sparks and works its way through the hilly countryside near Prettyboy Reservoir before sending riders on a speedy straightaway down Falls Road toward the city, where a series of tight turns must be navigated before the finish line.
In all, the 17 teams boasting some of the world's top cyclists will travel 120.4 miles during their trip from the headquarters of Kelly Benefit Strategies in Baltimore County to the East Pratt Street finish line in Baltimore City. About 70 of them will be in the county, with the remainder inside the city limits, including 19 technical turns.
Chris Aronhalt, owner and president of Medalist Sports, the event management company that helped organize the course and has planned similar cycling competitions, said a pro rider who's traveled along the route told him, "There's nowhere to hide."
"It's a combination of the beauty and challenging terrain of the county along with the fast racing, technical turns of the city," he said.
Last week, organizers announced nine teams for the inaugural edition of the race, which has twice been postponed due to COVID-19.
- WorldTour teams
- Trek-Segafredo
- Australia's Team BikeExchange-Jayco
- America's top ProTour series team: Human Powered Health
- U.S. Pro Continental Teams
- L39ION of Los Angeles
- Hagens Berman Axeon
- International squads
- Team Medellin-EPM (Colombia),
- Yoeleo Test Team p/b 4MIND (Canada),
- Team Corratec (Italy)
- EvoPro Racing (Ireland)
"Obviously, the pandemic set us back and for the safety of the riders and the things that were going on across the globe, it didn't make any sense to try to put on a world-class cycling event with no cyclists, " said Terry Hasseltine, president of the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland.
The one-day road race is scheduled for Sept. 4, and is sanctioned by competitive cycling's governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, organizers said. The start time is 1:30 p.m., and the race is expected to take 5 1/2 hours.
"This is the first time that something is anchored directly to benefit Maryland through cycling," said Hasseltine.
Remarking he was still riding high from the CIAA basketball tournament coming to town, Mayor Brandon Scott said the Maryland Cycling Classic is further proof "we are transforming Baltimore into a premiere destination for all sorts of events but especially sporting events."
A festival with entertainment and cycling vendors is also scheduled for race day.
People in Baltimore are excited for the event.
"It's been a long time since we've had a lot events in the city," said Miranda Judd of Baltimore. "It's definitely nice to hear that we're going to have some again, but I feel like everyone here has wanted to come out to see something happen."
Organizers said it'll be an event for all and its completely free to watch.
"That's the really critical part of an event this size and scope, to know its free to the public," Hasseltine said. "So, tens of thousands of people are going to line the streets to watch these really wonderful athletes."