After months of uncertainty, organizers of the Maryland Cycling Classic have announced that the race will not be held in 2026. Race chairman John Kelly and executive director Steve Brunner have now shifted focus to trying to revive the event for 2027.
"The opportunity now is trying to look forward, not backwards, and try to convert on bringing the event back in '27," Brunner told Escape Collective this week.
"We're pretty bullish at the time being, looking forward at the same calendar date of Labor Day weekend."
First run in 2022 at a spot on the calendar the weekend before the Grands Prix Québec and Montréal – the only WorldTour races left in North America – the Maryland Cycling Classic ran again in 2023, was cancelled in 2024, and then returned for 2025, adding a women's event for that year. The men's event was classed as a UCI 1.Pro, making it the highest rated road race in the United States, and organizers announced a plan to expand to a three-day stage race for 2026.
Late last year, however, the government-backed non-profit entity that owned the race, the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland (SportCorp), laid off its staff and ceased operations with substantial unpaid debts.
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