Series combines one-day road races, stage races, criteriums and omnium events
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Toms Skujins (Hincapie Racing Team) coming to terms with his impressive victory
Travis McCabe (SmartStop) works on the front of the field.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Leah Kirchmann (Optum) gets some help putting on the sprint leaders jersey.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Lauren Stephens (TIBCO) goes solo off the front(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) in the break to lap the field(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
USA Cycling announced Friday that the 2016 National Racing and Criterium Calendars (NRC and NCC) will be joined as a single calendar of domestic professional road events next year. There will be a total of 24 events that include one-day road races, stage races, criteriums and omnium events beginning in April and concluding in September.
“Combining the NRC and NCC into a single calendar is a positive move heading into next year,” said Micah Rice, USA Cycling Vice President of National Events.”
According to Rice, the merging of the two calendars was decided upon after USA Cycling was given feedback from race directors of US-based teams at the National Symposium held in October.
“This change will allow us to tighten up the schedule and regularly showcase our top domestic road talent,” Rice said.
The merging of the series’, which were separated four years ago, will bring the stage races, one-day road races, criteriums and osmium events back together into one racing calendar in 2016, however, USA Cycling has not yet decided on an official title of the calendar. They are expected to release the ranking system in the near future.
Major changes to the one-day road races and stage races side of the calendar include the absence of the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic and the Tour of California (which was women's only), and the return of the Cascade Cycling Classic (and as a women's UCI 2.2) along with the addition of Anniston Fort McClellan Road Race in 2016.
Changes on the criterium and omnium side include the addition of the Oklahoma City Pro-Am Classic, Tour of America’s Dairyland, Tour of Utah Women’s Edition Criterium Classic, Thompson Criterium of Doylestown, and the absence of the Connecticut Cycling Festival.
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This year, Leah Kirchmann (Optum) and Toms Skujins (Hincapie Racing) won their respective NRC titles, while Hincapie Racing won the men's team title and UnitedHealthcare won the women's team title. Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) and Samantha Schneider (ISCorp Cycling p/b Smart Choice MRI) won their respective NCC titles, and UnitedHealthcare won the men's team title and ISCorp Cycling p/b Smart Choice MRI won the women's team title.
2016 USA Cycling Road Calendar:
April 2 - Sunny King Criterium, Anniston, Ala. (Criterium)
April 3 - Anniston Fort McClellan Road Race, Anniston, Ala. (Road Race)
April 6-10 - Redlands Bicycle Classic, Redlands, Calif. (Stage Race)
April 21-24 - Joe Martin Stage Race, Fayetteville, Ark. (Stage Race, UCI 2.2)
April 30 - Charlotte Criterium, Charlotte, N.C. (Criterium)
April 30 - Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling, Dana Point, Calif. (Criterium)
May 4-8 - Tour of the Gila, Silver City, N.M. (Stage Race, UCI 2.2)
May 14 - Wilmington Grand Prix, Wilmington, Del. (Criterium)
May 29 - Winston-Salem Classic Criterium, Winston-Salem, N.C. (Criterium)
June 3 - The Oklahoma City Pro-Am Classic, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Criterium)
June 10-12 - Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, Tulsa, Okla. (Criterium, Omnium)
June 11-12 - Air Force Association Cycling Classic, Arlington, Va. (Criterium, Omnium)
June 15-19 - North Star Grand Prix, Minneapolis, Minn. (Stage Race)
June 25-26 - Tour of America’s Dairyland, Milwaukee, Wis. (Criterium, Omnium)
July 16 - Andersen Banducci Twilight Criterium, Boise, Idaho (Criterium)
