World Tour-level EF Education Easy Post and Trek-Segafredo have been selected to participate in the second annual Maryland Cycling Classic on September 3.

Trek-Segafredo will be led by Quinn Simmons, winner of stage 3 of this year's Vuelta a San Juan. However, EF Education-Easy Post has not confirmed any riders this early, including last year's third-place finisher, Nielson Powles.

"I'm already looking forward to coming back to Maryland. It's a great event for me and I come back highly motivated. I'm not satisfied with last year's results and I want to be part of the top contenders for the podium again this year," said Simmons, a Colorado native who won the mountains jersey in 2022 with an eighth place overall finish.

Professional teams Human Powered Health and Novo Nordisk will be joined by four continental-level teams (L39ion of Los Angeles and Hagens Berman Axeon of the United States, Toronto Hustle of Canada, and Colombia's Team Medellin-EPM) have been confirmed to line up again as well.

The first UCI 1.Pro one-day race was held in 2023 as the highest ranked men's one-day race on the U.S. calendar, won by Sepp Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech).

He finished ahead of Nicholas Zukowski (Human Powered Health) and Powles after the 196.6 km race in northern Maryland and downtown Baltimore. From a select group of six at the front of the race, Trek Segafredo's Toms Skuzinsch finished fourth, followed by EF Education's duo of Andrea Piccolo and Magnus Kort in fifth and sixth, respectively.

American road veterans Robin Carpenter and Kyle Murphy finished in the top 20 last year and will again be part of the L39LION of Los Angeles.

"I know that the entire community has greeted this race with joy and hope, as it bucks the latest trend of American road events that are disappearing. Last year's course was amazingly difficult and dynamic, surprising many racers and leading the packed streets of downtown Baltimore to an exciting finale," said Carpenter.

"We look forward to seeing even more spectators take to the course and more racers make this event their goal."

For the first time in the Tour of the Gila's 36-year history, the five-day stage race next week, April 26-30, will offer equal prize money for elite women and men.

Jack Brennan, race director for the New Mexico race, said donations have been raised to raise the total prize money to $35,350, the same amount as the Wal-Mart Joe Martin Stage Race.

A year ago, event sponsor Wal-Mart decided to increase the prize money to match the prize money of the Joe Martin Stage Race, the only UCI stage race remaining on the US calendar in recent years and scheduled for May 18-21.

"We wanted to go above and beyond what the UCI requires, and we finally got it done. The Tour of the Gila has been our goal since the beginning of the race," Brennan said.

In October 2022, Martin Pearson and Alex Olsen, two owners of Gila Hike & Bike, the race's sponsor, were killed in an automobile accident while traveling to Albuquerque for a mountain bike race. Funds raised in honor of Pearson and Olsen's deaths made it possible for the Tour of Gila to make equal payments.

Two other UCI stage races will be held in North America this season: the Tour de Beauce in Canada on June 14-18, back after a three-year absence, and the Subway 3 stage race in Antigua and Barbuda on August 19-20. Neither race has disclosed prize money or the number of riders competing this year.

Organizers of the newly formed National Cycling League have confirmed that the NCL Cup will continue to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, but a change in dates and venue will delay the event from May until late August.

Originally scheduled for May 14 in the downtown area of the Georgia capital, the Atlanta Invitational will now be held on Sunday, August 20, one week after the Denver, Colorado, event, which was scheduled for Sunday, August 13. The fourth and final round of the series, in Washington, D.C., is scheduled for September 17.

The Porsche Experience Center Atlanta was chosen by organizers to host the third round of the NCL Cup. The complex is part of Porsche's North American headquarters, located eight miles south of downtown, and features two automotive road courses: a 1.6-mile south course and a 1.3-mile handling circuit on the west side that serves as a driver development and experience for automotive enthusiasts.

The NCL Cup season opener was held on April 8 in Miami Beach, Florida, with the Denver Disruptors winning the women's and men's criteriums and the Miami Knights in second place overall, Goldman Sachs ETFS (women) in third and Texas Roadhouse Cycling p/b VQ Labs (men's), topped the combo team of.