Team SmartStop-Mountain Khakis again won the USA CRITS team title.(Image credit: Dejan Smaic / SportifImages)
Bunch sprint at finish(Image credit: Barry Koblenz/basetwelvephoto.com)
Pro men's race at the 2011 Charlotte Presbyterian Crit.(Image credit: Jon Safka/Cyclingphotos.ca)
USA Cycling has announced its 2013 National Racing Calendar (NRC) and National Criterium Calendar (NCC), including a date change for one of the few UCI one-day races, the Bucks County Classic, which moves from September 14 to September 7.
Race director John Eustice explained to Cyclingnews that the original date fell on Yom Kippur. “The community felt if respectful and proper to move the event forward a week for 2013 only, as there are no more holy days on our original weekend for many years to come.”
The Bucks County Classic Criterium, which will still take place on September 8, was removed from the NCC due to the conflict with the new Tour of Alberta.
“Since the purpose of NCC is to allow the Pro Continental teams, and since chances that they will be attending are slim due to our conflict with the Tour of Alberta, the sponsors decided to hold off on the added expense of the NCC until 2014,” Eustice said.
USA Cycling also removed the Tour of Vail Criterium, which was scheduled for August 17.
Even still, the NCC has grown by six events, with the incorporation of the USA CRITS series events. New on the calendar are the Old Pueblo GP on March 9 in Tucson, Arizona, the Delray Beach Twilight in Florida on March 23, the July 6 Iron Hill Twilight, Chicago’s Prairie State Cycling Series July 18-21 and the USA CRITS finals in Las Vegas on September 19. Additionally, the USA CRITS Speedweek has been split into two events: the A-series from April 27-May 1 and B-series from May 2-5.
While the NCC has grown, the NRC has been decimated – it shrinks from 10 events to seven with the cancellation of the Liberty Classic, American Cycling Open and Keystone Open. The Tour of the Battenkill organizers pulled their event from the UCI calendar and replaced the pro men’s race with a gran fondo. The women’s Exergy Tour is also not listed on the NRC for 2013, but is still on the UCI’s website as a 2.HC event.
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USA Cycling has also modified its points tables for the series, giving more weight to UCI-sanctioned events and adding points for winners of the mountains and sprint classifications.
The NCC will be broken into two tiers, with more points given to races meeting criteria such as prize purses, equal payout for men and women, audience size, live stream or television production.
2013 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
April 4-7: Redlands Bicycle Classic Apr. 25-28: Joe Martin Stage Race p/b Nature Valley May 1-5: SRAM Tour of the Gila June 12-16: Nature Valley Grand Prix July 16-21: Cascade Cycling Classic Aug. 2-4: Tour of Elk Grove Sept. 7: Thompson Bucks County Classic
2013 USA Cycling National Criterium Calendar
9-Mar: Old Pueblo Grand Prix 16-Mar: Cigar City Brewing Criterium 23-Mar: Delray Beach Twilight Festival 13-Apr: Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium 20-Apr: Sunny King Criterium April 27-May 1: USA CRITS Speed Week "A" May 2-5: USA CRITS Speed Week "B" 5-May: Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling 11-May: Tour de Grove 18-May: Wilmington Grand Prix 27-May: Middle Earth Tour of Somerville 30-May: Base Camp Intl. p/b Verizon Wireless 1-Jun: Glencoe Grand Prix June 7-9: Saint Francis Tulsa Tough June 8-9: Air Force Cycling Classic 16-Jun: Skyscraper Harlem Cycling Classic June 20-23: Tour of America's Dairyland 7-Jul: Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix 13-Jul: Exergy Twilight Criterium 29-Jun: Herman Miller Brickyard Classic 6-Jul: Iron Hill Twilight Criterium Aug. 24-25: Chris Thater Memorial Sept. 21: TD Bank Mayor's Cup July 18-21: Prairie State Cycling Series Sept. 19: USA CRITS Finals
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
