Ten Races On Expanded Schedule

Colorado Springs, Co — USA Cycling announced today the fourth edition of the USA Cycling Professional Tour, which is highlighted by an expanded calendar and two first-time UCI events.

In 2009, Garmin-Transitions’ Dave Zabriskie captured the individual title and the HTC-Columbia team edged fellow U.S. based Pro Tour squad, Garmin for the team title.

The 2010 Pro Tour features four major multi-day stage races across the country, giving spectators around the nation an opportunity to witness the sport at its highest level of competition. With Tours of California, New York, Missouri and the Univest Grand Prix (Pa.) on the calendar, cycling enthusiasts from the West Coast to New England to the Midwest can see world-class athletes as they race through local communities across America.

In addition to the multi-day races on the 2010 Pro Tour, road cycling athletes will also compete in six additional single-day events, including five road races, one criterium and one time trial. Collectively, the calendar offers 28 days of racing for the world’s best on U.S. soil.

For the first time the calendar will begin with the self-billed “America’s Queen of the Classics,” the Tour of The Battenkill. The one-day race will kick off the calendar on Sunday, April 18, featuring rolling countryside, covered bridges and passes through the small villages of Upstate New York's Washington County. This race adds a unique element in that approximately 25% of the race is contested on sections of dirt roads.

A mainstay on the USA Cycling Professional Tour, the Amgen Tour of California is an eight-day stage race in the Golden State that has historically attracted the sport’s top international teams and athletes. The event moves from February to May 16 – 23 and will feature a much more challenging overall course and several new stages, most notably the opening stage in Nevada City and the final stage, a circuit race throughout Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.

The previously traditional close of the calendar, the Tour of Missouri will this year serve as the seventh of 10 total events, August 31- September 6. Many of the world’s top international teams are expected to again return to Missouri for the world-class, multiple-day professional cycling race and rolling festival.

For the fifth consecutive year, Greenville, S.C. will welcome the top American road pros for the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships. This year scheduled for September 18 and 19, the event will welcome America’s best.

2010 USA Cycling Professional Tour:

• April 18: Tour of the Battenkill - Cambridge, NY
• May 16 – 23: Amgen Tour of California - California
• June 6: TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship - Philadelphia, PA
• July 4: US Open of Cycling - Providence, RI
• Aug. 7 – 12: Tour de New York – Rochester, NY
• Aug. 14: USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championships - TBD
• Aug. 31 – Sept. 6: Tour of Missouri - Missouri
• Sept. 11 – 12: Univest Grand Prix - Souderton, PA
• Sept. 18: USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championship - Greenville, SC
• Sept. 19: USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship - Greenville, SC