USA Cycling has announced the National Criterium Series calendar for 2022, which features ten races between April and September.
Organisers revealed in December the new series would include six of the ten former USA CRITS races, and today (Thursday) they completed the full 10-event calendar with the addition of four new races. Five of the races will also comprise multi-day events.
The four events added to the series are the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alaska, the MVP Health Care Rochester Twilight Criterium in Rochester, New York, The Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic in Harlem, New York, and part of Intelligentsia Cup in Lake Bluff, Illinois.
Each event has also committed to providing equal prize money for both the men's and women's fields, with the series offering a $100,000 overall prize purse. In addition, some events will offer an individual prize purse too, also split equally between the men's and women's races.
Harlem Skyscraper Classic race director Richard Cox said: “We’re excited to be back to racing and to be included in the inaugural year for this series.
“Our event has been around since 1973, the second oldest bike race in the U.S., and to be recognized as one of the top criteriums in America is a great honour. We’re looking forward to welcoming teams, racers, and spectators from across the country to Harlem in June.”
This new criterium series will feature the 19 teams who formed non-profit group National Association of Cycling Teams (NACT), following the collapse of USA CRITS in the autumn of 2021 when director Scott Morris was suspended by SafeSport.
A notable absentee from the 19 teams though is L39ION of Los Angeles, who won't compete in USA Cycling's National Criterium Series.
National Criterium Series 2022 calendar
April 9, Sunny King Criterium (Anniston, AL)
May 21, MVP Health Care Rochester Twilight Criterium (Rochester, NY)
June 10, Saint Francis Tulsa Tough (Tulsa, OK)
June 19, Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic (Harlem, NY)
July 9, Bailey & Glasser LLP Twilight Criterium (Boise, ID)
July 16, Salt Lake City Criterium (Salt Lake City, UT)
July 30, Intelligentsia Cup (Lake Bluff, IL)
August 6, Littleton Criterium (Littleton, CO)
August 27, Momentum Indy (Indianapolis, IN)
September 5, Bommarito Audi Gateway Cup (Saint Louis, MO)
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