The Armed Forces Cycling Classic celebrates its 25th edition with the start of the Crystal City Cup circuit race on Saturday, followed by the Clarendon Cup Race on Sunday, awarding the omnium prize for the combined days. The race is offering equal prize money for both the pro men and women races for another year running.
~ By Rebecca Reza ~
Fans can Listen Live to the AFCC here on race days:
The women will kick-off the weekend of racing Saturday morning at 10:25 AM racing for 60 minutes, followed by the men at noon racing for 90 minutes. 76 riders will take the start, including L39ion of Los Angeles Kendall Ryan. The National Crit Champion returns as the defending champion, having swept the race winning both days and the omnium last year. Ryan defended her national crit title last season, and will be racing once again in the shadow of our nation’s capitol in the stars and stripes.
“It’s really special winning in DC in the national jersey,” Ryan said after her win in 2022. “It’s probably the coolest feeling, everyone looking at you in awe in the American jersey.” Ryan will be fighting for her third title this weekend, after earning her first title in 2019.
A surprise pop-up on the preliminary roster is WorldTour veteran and 2017 Tour of Flanders Champion, Coryn Labecki. The Jumbo-Visma rider is back stateside ahead of the Pro Nationals later this month. Other riders to watch include Canadian Sprinter Sarah Van Dam riding for DNA Pro Cycling. Van Dam is arriving having just won the Best Young Rider classification at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas last month.
Tokyo Olympic Gold Medalist in the Omnium, Jennifer Valente continues her road racing season in Arlington, joining a stacked Virginia BlueRidge Team Twenty24 squad with Marlies Mejias who notched another stage win this season on the final day at Joe Martin, and Emily Ehrlich, this season’s Redlands Cycling Classic champion.
The men’s race is nearly at its limit, with 138 riders set on the preliminary roster. Leading the field will be L39ion of Los Angeles, with Ty Magner who was the victor in the Crystal Cup last year, along with crit specialists, the Williams brothers Cory and Justin. Project Echelon will hope to disrupt their plans, led by Tyler Stites who has had a stellar season so far, defending his Redlands Bicycle Classic in April, followed by a stage win at Joe Martin. 2019 Champion Stephen Vogel will be racing alongside Stites, hoping to add another title in Arlington to his palmères.
Brendan Rhim and Michael Hernandez are back, racing with their new team, the American Cycling Group, directed by Thomas Craven. Notably missing from the men’s roster are the National Cycling League teams, including Miami Night’s Alfredo Rodriguez and Denver Disrupter’s Juan Arango who finished second and third in the omnium last year.
Sunday, the women will start racing 50 laps, around the 1-km course at 10:05, followed by the men racing 100km at noon before crowning the 2023 champions.
Fans can Listen Live to the AFCC here on race days:
See more info: https://cyclingclassic.org/radio
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