The men's peloton in action during the USA Crits finale at the Tour of Vail.(Image credit: Dejan Smaic / SportifImages)
Tina Pic is overall USA Crits leader(Image credit: Steve Conner Photography)
The 2016 USA Crits top teams(Image credit: USA CRITS Series)
Ryan Aitcheson atop the USA Crits series podium(Image credit: USA CRITS Series)
Tiffany Pezullo (LA Sweat) takes the USA Crits leaders jersey.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
It was a beautiful night for racing at the Blue Dome Criterium, the first round at Tulsa Tough.(Image credit: Philip Wilkerson)
The organisers of USA Crits, a series of criteriums across the country, have announced 19 elite teams who will compete for race victories and the overall series prize.
By selecting a set number of teams to race all events, organisers hope to build a "sustainable model" with consistent players and online streaming coverage of the races for fans to follow.
"We are creating a model that works. We need defined teams racing across America with storylines fans can follow and solutions to allow them to watch and keep up with their favorite teams," said Scott Morris, Director of Development. "We really appreciate these teams joining us on this journey.
"We are in our second year of redeveloping the Series to help achieve a sustainable model for cycling. Last year, we created the USACRITS.tv platform and streamed more cycling races than ever in American history. This year, our focus will be getting more eyes on those streams and increasing the number of domestic teams able to race a national calendar by putting more financial support directly back to those teams."
The men's teams include 2018 overall winner David Guttenplan's Support Clean Sport squad, team winners Clif Bar, Aevolo Cycling, Arapahoe-Hincapie, ButcherBox, FAVE Cycling, Legion of Los Angeles, Marc Pro Cycling, Palmetto State Medical and Texas Roadhouse.
Women's teams include Colavita/Bialetti, DNA Pro Cycling, Gray Goat Mobile, Hagens Berman-Supermint, LA Sweat, Levine Law, Point S Auto, Sho-Air Twenty20 and Worfpack-Jakroo.
The series will kick off in Birmingham, Alabama on March 16, and close with a still-to-be-announced season finale in September. The Birmingham event will be limited to D1 teams and also include amateur races and an organized training ride on the 17th.
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2019 USA CRITS Calendar
Preseason: Birmingham HammerFest - March 16th, Birmingham, AL Race 1: Destination El Paso Criterium - March 30th, El Paso, TX Race 2: AOC Athens Twilight Criterium - April 27th, Athens, GA Race 3: Winston-Salem Cycling Classic - May 25th, Winston-Salem, NC Race 4: Saint Francis Tulsa Tough - June 7th, Tulsa, OK Race 5: ASWB Twilight Criterium - July 13th, Boise, ID Race 6: Salt Lake Criterium - July 20th, Salt Lake City, UT Race 7: San Rafael Sunset Criterium - July 27th, San Rafael, CA Race 8: Littleton Twilight Criterium - August 3rd, Littleton, CO Race 9: Benchmark Twilight Cycling Classic - August 10th, West Chester, PA Finals: Finals Announced 2019 - September, TBD
