For the first time since 2001, Washington, D.C. will host a day of racing and activities for a rebranded Amazon Armed Forced Cycling Classic, the former Crystal Cup becoming the Capital Cup and offering opening omnium points for pros in the two-day format.
Amazon broadened their sponsorship to include naming rights for the weekend event, scheduled for May 31-June 1. The Clarendon Cup returns for a 27th year on Sunday using a distinctive five-turn, 1km course located seven miles west of the nation's capitol in Arlington, Virginia.
"I hung a clothesline over Clarendon Boulevard in 1998. Clarendon has been the original, and then we had the Crystal Cup. We've been tweaking and adjusting and growing for all these years," Rob Laybourn, race founder and executive director at Arlington Sports, told Cyclingnews about the two-day event.
"I'm honoured to bring racing back to D.C. now. Amazon also stepped up to take over the naming rights of it."
The Clarendon Cup has served as the opening day race in past years, then switched with the race in Crystal City, Virginia and a Challenge Ride was added, which is now one of the country's most popular amateur ride. The Challenge Ride offers a 21km closed course that welcomes cycling enthusiasts of all skill levels and will start and finish on one side of the Capital. Participants can aim for gold, silver, or bronze medals, awarded based on the number of laps completed during the three-hour event.
Laybourn expects more than 30 companies to participate in the Challenge Ride on May 31, with eight of those businesses aligning with elite teams for co-branding in the pro/am races. It is a very unique way to generate support for the races, as well as boost branding for the pro teams.
As an example, the DNA Pro Cycling team was rebranded BlueHalo/DNA with a special edition kit for the two days of racing. Laybourn has done this for the past 10 years, which has proven to be a win-win for both the team and for businesses who otherwise would never be involved in pro cycling, like BlueHalo, a global defense company.
"I want to try to create opportunities and media coverage for a quality event. We're trying to sell our spot outside of just the people who know about it. We get most of our support from corporate relationships," Laybourn said, saying he would have more details soon about the team co-branding partners. "I think we have a very mature property that continues to grow and be successful with the support we get here locally."
Details on the course used for the Challenge Ride and the Capital Cup will be released later in the spring. The two-day event continues to thrive as a stand-alone omnium event and is not part of a US criterium series.
In 2019, Eric Young (Elevate-KHS) and Kendall Ryan (TIBCO-SVB) made history as the first man and woman to win both days of races at the Armed Forces Cycling Classic, both sweeping omnium championships. In 2016 Ty Magner won both days for the men riding for UnitedHealthcare. Ryan was prolific with multiple podiums in her career, repeating the double wins for L39ION of Los Angeles in 2022, also winning the Crystal Cup in 2024.
“Amazon has been a proud sponsor of this event for the past three years,” said Patrick Phillippi, head of community engagement for Amazon in Greater Washington. “The Armed Forces Cycling Classic reflects so many key important core values for our company, including health and wellness, support for our military community, and engaging our workforce and local community, all taking place in our backyard.”
