After Successful First Year, Maryland Cycling Classic Aims To Be Even Better

Aug 12, 2023

The same, but better.

That’s the goal for the second Maryland Cycling Classic, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 3. About 85,000 spectators lined the streets of Baltimore City and County last Labor Day weekend to catch a glimpse of the highest-ranked one-day professional cycling race in the United States. Belgium’s Sep Vanmarcke of Israel-Premier Tech won the inaugural race in a sprint to the finish line, completing the 120.4-mile course in 4:34:45.

The final product was received well by race officials and riders alike. Now comes the challenge of keeping what made the first race special but making the necessary tweaks to produce an even better second race, according to Medalist Sports president Chris Aronhalt. Medalist Sports spearheads the effort to put together a safe race for fans and riders.

“The course was fabulous. Our operations logistics in terms of road closure and traffic management, that all went very smoothly,” Aronhalt said. “So it’s really important to kind of use the knowledge we gained last year and just make improvements because quite honestly, the competition on the course itself is fine, meaning there’s no need to make adjustments there. We’re excited.”

The route remains unchanged for 2023, as riders will start at Kelly Benefits headquarters in Sparks before heading north toward the Pennsylvania border and Prettyboy Reservoir. They’ll then head down Falls Road for a four-lap trip around Baltimore and finish at Pratt Street and Market Place. The race will again feature 16 teams of seven riders.

The first change is the most obvious one: The race will begin at 12 p.m. at Kelly Benefits rather than 1:30 p.m. a year ago. That gives race fans more time to visit the various restaurants, bars and attractions in and around downtown following the conclusion of the race.

Another reason, according to Maryland Sports Commission executive director Terry Hasseltine, was the position of the sun as riders were finishing up the race in downtown Baltimore, making photo and video work a challenge.

“Trying to make sure that we create the best aesthetics for not only the race but also the best aesthetics for how we display the race not only regionally but also globally is important,” Hasseltine said. “We want to put the best light on Baltimore and Baltimore County that we can.”

Last year, the race could be streamed on cycling network GCN+ and the Tour Tracker app, but this year EuroSport can be added to the list of streaming options. And locally, the entire race can be seen on Maryland Public Television along with a pre- and post-race show.

The most critical change, though, will be creating an even better experience for fans at the race. Aronhalt, who was part of the race caravan last year, was heartened by the number of spectators at the race, ranging from people at block parties to folks on their tractors to kids playing. Aronhalt says the Maryland Cycling Classic can tap into that even more.

“I came down Falls Road and there were street parties everywhere,” Aronhalt recalled. “It was probably a typical Labor Day weekend for them anyway, so we want to have a stronger connection with I think it was about 18 different neighborhoods that the 7.5-mile [Baltimore] circuit went through. We’re already starting that process with neighborhood associations, churches, community leaders of basically making everyone aware about the event.”

Hasseltine is aiming for 100,000-plus attendees this year. That sounds good to Robin Carpenter, who rode for L39ION of Los Angeles in the 2022 Maryland Cycling Classic.

“I’m hoping that we get even more people out on the streets in downtown Baltimore [than in 2022], sort of seeing what the event is about because I don’t think Baltimore’s really had elite-level racing like this ever before,” Carpenter said. “You’ve got sort of this whole new group of people getting exposed to the sport.”

As race officials make adjustments, so too will the riders. The Maryland Cycling Classic is part of the UCI ProSeries but draws teams from the UCI WorldTour and UCI Continental Circuits, meaning riders and teams from a variety of competitive backgrounds will descend on Baltimore. (The WorldTour is the highest-rated circuit, followed by the ProSeries and Continental Circuits.)

Carpenter explained that “the whole race exploded early on” in 2022. WorldTour teams had eyes on one another, trying to keep each other from breaking away from the pack. But as a result, all the WorldTour teams inevitably had a rider in the breakaway. Plus, the terrain early in the race — wide roads and rolling hills — made for some aggressive moves by riders.

“What that lends itself to is these attacks that you can come from sort of the middle of the pack with a lot more speed than the people in front because you’ve got the momentum. It just makes it really hard to control,” Carpenter said. “… Since all that happens in the first 40 miles, 50 miles or so, it just makes the beginning of the race super crucial.”

Eventually, riders come down Falls Road and execute the city portion, which presents a different set of challenges than the county — heavily worn roads, tight turns and even raised manhole covers.

“There’s a fair bit of technicality to it even though the streets are fairly wide,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter says teams will have a better idea of the riders to send to the race and the strategies to employ in Year 2.

“We’d be more looking to sort of put as many guys into that large breakaway, like last year, as possible,” Carpenter said of L39ION of Los Angeles’ game plan. “That’s probably our best play, just to have more numbers compared to the bigger teams.”

Events surrounding the race also return. Bike Jam is a chance for cyclists of all ages to ride a 1-mile course from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1 starting at Pulaski Monument in Patterson Park. The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation Bridges of Hope charity ride gives local cyclists a chance to ride parts of the Maryland Cycling Classic course the morning of Saturday, Sept. 2 by supporting the UHCCF. Maryland Cycling Classic team introductions will take place in Harbor East from 5:30-8 p.m. on Sept. 2.

Last year, Bike Jam took place on Thursday and the team introductions on Friday ahead of the Sunday race. Volunteer event chair John Kelly, the president of Kelly Benefits, views this year’s tighter timeline as a positive.

“I want the business community to benefit more, so packing it in Friday-Saturday-Sunday I think will bring people in for the weekend more effectively, getting into hotels and that kind of thing,” said Kelly, who heads up the effort to attract sponsors. “I think that can be better. The team presentation was awesome [in 2022], but I think more people can be there and make a night of it and spend some money in Harbor East that night and have fun, so I think that’ll be great.”

It all leads into the big race. The big unknown is weather — thunder and lightning would cause a delay — but the race went off without a hitch in 2022.

“In all fairness, we were blessed with the fact that the weather cooperated,” Hasseltine said. “But after having a multi-year hiatus because of COVID, the fact that the riders had a world-class experience and everything seemed to click, that’s the thing that’s setting the foundation for this year to hopefully tweak and modify some of the little glitches that we might have had.”

Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Maryland Cycling Classic

Issue 281: June/July 2023

Originally published June 15, 2023