Medalist Sports, the organisation that has produced the majority of top professional cycling events in the US, have signed to produce the inaugural season of the new National Cycling League.
The NCL, "America's newest professional league sport" according to the press release, will get started in 2023 with 12 teams, each made up of six men and six women, set to compete in criteriums in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Washington, DC with the aim of taking home part of a $1 million prize purse.
The league was co-founded by "serial entrepeneur" Paris Wallace, National Football League player agent David Mulugheta, along with former L39ION team manager Reed McAlvin and Rob Weir. The league has big ambitions and powerful financial backers, and solid experience from Kelly Staley, VP of Partnerships, a former AEG Vice President who worked on the Tour of California, and Tim Miller, who was part of the local organising committee for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond.
Medalist Sports bring decades of experience in putting on top events, having recently produced the 2022 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships and the Maryland Cycling Classic, and previously the Tour DuPont, Tour de Georgia, Tour of California, and Tour of Utah, among other top races.
"Medalist Sports is eager to create safe and exciting racing experiences for all key stakeholders of the National Cycling League, as well as collaborate with our host city and community partners. The team's focus is to create innovative, impactful, and engaging fan experiences across the country," said Chris Aronhalt, owner and president of Medalist Sports. "The NCL is the most promising development in American professional cycling in decades."
USA Cycling Domestic Elite, UCI Continental, or UCI Professional teams can apply to take part in the series here and must commit to taking part in all four events with teams for both men's and women's races.
The final prizes will be based on a scoring system that rewards teamwork, combining scores for men and women. The top three riders on each lap of a race score 3, 2 and 1 points, with double for the final lap, and the team with the most points will win $700,000, with lower prizes for second through fifth.
Dates for the four-city series are to be announced next month.
