After a 2024 cancellation, the Maryland Cycling Classic, America’s top-ranked professional road race, returns bigger and better this weekend, with WorldTour teams like Lidl-Trek, EF Education-EasyPost, Team Jayco-AlUla and Canyon-SRAM headlining the Baltimore event.

Organisers rolled out major upgrades for the event’s third edition, including a new women’s race and a calendar shift that links Maryland directly to the Canadian WorldTour one-day classics.

The September 6th date makes the transatlantic trip more enticing for European squads chasing UCI points on both sides of the border. Just as importantly, the addition of a women’s race marks the long-awaited return of world-class women’s road racing to the U.S. for the first time since the 2019 Amgen Tour of California.

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On the men’s side, organizers tout their deepest field yet with a mix of WorldTour, Pro Road and top American teams in attendance.

Plus, the course has gotten an exciting, spectator-friendly makeover featuring several laps of a technical circuit with 28 (!) turns per lap, a cobbled sector, an intermediate sprint, a KOM climb, and a showcase of Baltimore’s most iconic landmarks.

Unusually for a one-day race, the Maryland Cycling Classic will feature races within the race with a sprinter’s and a climber’s classification, each with prize money on offer. In addition, organisers have confirmed equal prize purses for the men’s and women’s events: a total of $25,000 in each race, with $10,000 awarded to the winners.

Here’s what to expect, who to cheer for and how to watch America’s “most important race”

Canyon-SRAM, Ceratizit Pro Cycling and EF Education–Oatly, who are joined by top American teams such as Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28, L39ion of Los Angeles, Cynisca, Mexico’s Pato Bike–BMC and Canada’s The Cyclery.

And, making history with their presence is the Benin national team, which will be the first African women’s team to race a UCI event on U.S. soil.

Alison Jackson

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Riders to Watch:

Canadian Alison Jackson of EF Education–Oatly is a former Paris–Roubaix champion, the current Canadian national champion and one of the most experienced riders in this peloton. On this Classics-like course, it’s hard to bet against her. Look for her to instigate, and be active in, a breakaway.Speaking of experience, veteran WorldTour rider Tiffany Cromwell is captaining the Canyon-SRAM squad. An avid gravel racer, the Australian spends a fair bit of time in the United States and will surely be a valuable support rider for her less-experienced teammates in this technical circuit. Who knows, we may just see her take her own chances in a reduced bunch or breakaway scenario.American Lauren Stephens (Foundation Cycling) is always a contender, no matter the road’s surface. Stephens is the current US national gravel champion, a former US road racing champion, a stage winner of the 2020 virtual Tour de France, and winner of this year’s UCI-ranked Tour de Bloom stage race. She’ll be joined by a very strong American squad, including Emma Langley, who’s fresh off a win at the Green Mountain Stage Race and off-road privateer and 2024 Leadville winner Melissa Rollins.Cuban national champion Marlies Mejías García (Virginia’s Blue Ridge – Twenty28) has been dominating the U.S. road racing scene this 2025 season. The sprinter swept the overall at Tour of America’s Dairyland, Armed Forces Cycling Classic and Gateway Cup. She also won the Somerville and Clarendon Cups, and took home the points jersey at the Tour de Bloom.Also keep an eye on Heidi Franz (Cynisca). The 30-year-old American, who has spent the past few years living and racing in Europe, is always an animator with her bold attacks and well-timed flyers. Hungry for a breakthrough performance, Maryland could be the perfect stage for the big result she’s been chasing.Wild cards: Given the course’s many turns and technical nature, this could be a good opportunity for criterium teams like L39ion or Fearless Femmes to showcase their chops.

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