The Joe Martin stage race returns to the 2010 NRC calendar (Image credit: Tom Ewart)
USA Cycling announced its 2010 National Racing Calendar, which will feature 27 events in its 14th year. The list is similar to last year's calendar, missing only the Amgen Tour of California Women's race and the Hanes Park Classic. Two new events were added to the calendar, one in New Jersey and one in Virginia.
The men will have 25 races, eight of which are not NRC ranked for women, while the women will compete in 19, two of which are women-only.
The calendar kicks off with the long-running Redlands Bicycle Classic, March 25-28 then heads down the Pacific coast to scenic Dana Point, California for the men's-only Dana Point Grand Prix on April 11.
On April 17 the east gets its first race at the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alabama, which no longer overlaps with the popular Tour of the Gila stage race, which runs from April 28 to May 2, in Silver City, New Mexico. The Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas, will follow on May 6-10.
The NRC then heads to the northeast for its traditional block of one-day races including the Wilmington GP and Kelly Cup on May 22 and 23. The series will see two new races, the Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix in Basking Ridge, New Jersey on May 26 and the Richmond Twilight Grand Prix in Richmond, Virginia on June 3, with the nation's oldest bicycle race, the Tour of Somerville sandwiched in between on May 31.
With the second-biggest prize list on offer at nearly $115,000, the three-day omnium of criteriums, Tulsa Tough will take place June 4-6 in Oklahoma.
The women-only Liberty Classic is scheduled to take place in Philadelphia on June 6, while the Clarendon Cup will go off June 12 in Arlington, Virginia, just ahead of the Tour de Winghaven, now both a men's and women's NRC event, in St. Louis on June 13.
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The peloton will next move to the Midwest for the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota, June 16-20. After a brief break from racing another fan-favorite, the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix will return in California on June 27.
The Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts keeps its traditional place on the calendar, July 2-5, but will overlap on the calendar with the Two Bridges Criterium (Marion Classic) on July 3.
The Meijer Grand Cycling Classic, the third new race on the calendar, takes place on July 10 in Michigan, while the following week's men-only Boise Twilight Criterium slots in on July 17. The Cascade Cycling Classic, a six-day stage race in Bend, Oregon follows on July 20-25.
Attention will then shift to Illinois for the men's-only Chicago Criterium on July 25 and the three-day Tour of Elk Grove, July 30-August 1. Slightly up from last year's $150,000 mark, the Tour of Elk Grove's $155,000 purse is the calendar's richest.
Racing next heads to North Carolina for the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational on August 7 in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
After an open weekend, the men's-only stage race, the Tour of Utah will take place August 17-22. The following weekend the peloton heads to Upstate New York for the Chris Thater Memorial in Binghamton, August 28-29.
The calendar then concludes with the women's portion only of the U.S. 10K Classic in Atlanta on September 6.
The overall prize list for the 2010 NRC is $981,310, down nearly $400,000 from last year's initial NRC which included seven more events. The 2009 NRC however lost seven events and a total of nearly $250,000 of that prize money. Of the 2010 total, $719,000 is up for grabs to the men, while the overall women's purse is $262,310.
2010 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
March 25-28: Redlands Bicycle Classic - Redlands, CA www.redlandsclassic.com April 11: Dana Point Grand Prix - Dana Point, CA www.danapointgrandprix.com April 17: Sunny King Criterium - Anniston, AL www.sunnykingcriterium.com April 28-May 5: SRAM Tour of the Gila - Silver City, NM www.tourofthegila.com May 6-10: Joe Martin Stage Race - Fayetteville, AR www.joemartinstagerace.com May 22: Wilmington Grand Prix - Wilmington, DE www.wilmgrandprix.com May 23: Kelly Cup - Baltimore, MD www.bikejam.org *May 26: Basking Ridge Twilight Grand Prix - Basking Ridge, NJ www.libertycycleinc.com May 31: Tour of Somerville - Somerville, NJ www.tourofsomerville.org *June 3: Richmond Twilight Grand Prix - Richmond, VA www.288sportsgroup.com June 4-6: Tulsa Tough - Tulsa, OK www.tulsatough.com June 6: Liberty Classic - Philadelphia, PA www.procyclingtour.com June 12: Clarendon Cup - Arlington, VA www.arlingtonsports.org June 13: Tour de Winghaven - St. Louis, MO www.tourdewinghaven.com June 16-20: Nature Valley Grand Prix - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN www.naturevalleygrandprix.com June 27: Manhattan Beach Grand Prix - Manhattan Beach, CA www.mbgp.com July 2-5: Fitchburg Longsjo Classic - Fitchburg, MA www.longsjo.com July 3: Two Bridges Criterium (Marion Classic) - Marion, IN www.marionclassic.com *July 10: Meijer Grand Cycling Classic - Grand Rapids, MI www.grcyclingclassic.com July 17: Boise Twilight Criterium - Boise, ID www.boisetwilightcriterium.com July 20-25: Cascade Classic - Bend, OR www.breakawaypromotions.com July 25: Chicago Criterium - Chicago, IL www.chicagocriterium.us July 30-August 1: Tour of Elk Grove - Elk Grove, IL www.tourofelkgrove.com August 7: Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium - Charlotte, NC www.charlottecriterium.org August 18-22: Tour of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT www.breakawaypromotions.com August 28-29: 1.2 Chris Thater Memorial - Binghamton, NY www.bcstopdwi.com September 6: US 10K - Atlanta, GA www.us10k.org
