After being canceled in 2024, the Maryland Cycling Classic will return to the UCI calendar in 2025 bigger than ever, with the addition of a women’s one-day event in addition to the men’s event on September 6.
America’s premier UCI road race has been canceled for 2024 due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The race has vowed to return, but some fans are skeptical. Lately, too many U.S. games have gone on hiatus, never to return.
However, it turns out that’s not the case for “America’s Most Important Race” as the competition is set to return this September with a new women’s event, which will be played on the same day along similar lines as the men’s event. Details and participating teams will be announced in the coming months.
“We are excited to announce the event dates and add the women’s competition, plans we have been developing since the launch of the program,” Terry Haseltine said in a release. Haseltine is president of Maryland Sports and Entertainment, which owns and hosts the event.
With the addition of the women’s race, the Maryland Cycling Classic will be moved from Labor Day to next week, Saturday, September 6th. The move brings the Maryland Classic closer to the Canadian One-Day World Tour event.
Previously, the two-week gap was long enough to make it difficult for men’s WorldTour riders to cope. While race organizers did not list it as a reason for the date change, the six-day gap between UCI events will make the transatlantic journey more feasible for European teams seeking points.
There is currently no equivalent WorldTour pairing for the Canadian women’s main squad. However, September is a big gap in the Women’s World Tour schedule and the Maryland Cycling Classic could link the summer race calendar with the UCI Road World Championships.
The Baltimore game also fills a large hole in the stateside women’s professional schedule.
“It’s exciting to see world-class women’s professional cycling return to the United States and I’m excited to be a part of this team,” said Joanne Kiesanowski, the event’s new event manager . “Our goal is to attract a competitive field that showcases some of the best women in the world.”
The first two editions of the Maryland Cycling Classic are held in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with Sep Vanmarke (Israel-Premier Tech) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) winning the first two exciting events respectively. In both cases, the race ends early over Baltimore’s rolling terrain before the home team reaches the fast finish course around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The 2025 European event is expected to feature more European teams and an even more exciting men’s competition. The women’s competition could allow top American athletes like Olympic medalists Kristin Faulkner and Chloe Dygert to compete for victory in front of domestic audiences.
