Maryland Cycling Classic will return in September as officials look to boost attendance
The event is a race that will take place on September 3, with events leading up to it starting on August 31.
Maryland Cycling Classic returns to Greater Baltimore in September for a second consecutive year. Officials have high hopes for the number in-person viewers and stream viewers.
The top professional road cycling race in the U.S. will be held on September 3 and follow the same 124 mile route through Baltimore County, including downtown Baltimore, as the race last year. Officials from the state and local governments announced the route on Tuesday, and they said that they hoped to attract 30,000 more spectators to the race this year.
The event last year was the first race of this caliber to be held in Maryland since 1996's Tour DuPoint. The pandemic also forced the event to be postponed. It was originally scheduled for 2020. John Kelly, event chair of Kelly Benefits and corporate partner of the Maryland Cycling Classic, stated that the 2022 race attracted 70,000 spectators as well as 100,000 viewers locally and in 62 other countries.
Kelly said, 'It's incredible. We're doing it again.'
Joseph Ochipinti is an executive at race sponsor UnitedHealthcare. He hopes that the broadcast viewership this year will increase to more than 80 countries, with 100,000 people in person.
Local officials including Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said that the event is a showcase for Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
Olszewski explained that putting on display the region was a way to celebrate the assets the area has.
Sport & Entertainment Corp., Maryland's owner, will host seventeen teams with seven riders in its second event, which takes place in Greater Baltimore. Terry Hasseltine said that the cyclists will have a familiarity with the hills in Baltimore County as well as Baltimore City.
The race on Sunday will start at Kelly Benefits' headquarters in Sparks, at 12 noon. The race will begin at the Kelly Benefits headquarters in Sparks, where it will start at noon. The course loops around Prettyboy Reservoir.
After 75 miles riders will race down Falls Road into the city, completing 4.5 circuits totaling 7.4 miles. The course includes 19 turns and passes through Inner Harbor, Harbor East and Little Italy. The final 1.9 mile stretch will include a downhill descent from St. Paul Street to East Pratt Street, leading up to a fast and flat finish at Market Place. The finish should take place between 3:30 and 5 pm.
Hasseltine stated that Sunday would be the big race day'made for TV', but there will also be other events taking place in conjunction with the cycling event, including a student bike safety course, a bike community event at Patterson Park, and a charity bike ride.
Al Hutchinson, CEO of Visit Baltimore, said that the Maryland Cycling Classic was another example of the region's status as a'sports tourism mecca' in the United States. He also listed other major events and sports teams that are based in Baltimore. These include the Preakness Stakes (the Preakness Stakes), the Baltimore Orioles (the Baltimore Ravens), USA Lacrosse, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament.