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The 10-race criterium series announced by American teams, race directors and USA Cycling back in January now has a name, and a promise for livestreaming of the races.
The American Criterium Cup is the series title, with unity being a central theme in the branding.
“The series, and all the race directors associated with it, are excited to announce the name for the series, American Criterium Cup,” said Mike Weiss, race director of the Bommarito Audi Gateway Cup. “For 2022, the series will focus on the theme of unity, with events, teams, and USA Cycling having a common goal of elevating the stature of criterium racing in the United States.”
The American Criterium Cup was created in the wake of USA CRITS dissolving last year. USA CRITS was a 10-race series that offered livestream coverage of each event, plus multiple season-long points competitions within the series.
Related: American crit teams form National Association of Cycling Teams
USA CRITS provided the American teams’ sponsors key visibility with the internet video reach. The American Criterium Cup will provide livestream coverage of all 10 events, with details on the streaming of each event to be announced soon, said USA Cycling’s marketing operations manager Tom Mahoney.
When USA Cycling first announced the formation of the criterium series concept in December, it promised a $100,000 purse for the series. Since then, more events were added.
Notably absent from the 10-race rosters are Athens Twilight and Winston Salem, both staples of the previous USA CRITS series and that were run by the USA CRITS team.
Also when the series was being announced, 19 criterium teams had formed the National Association of Cycling Teams, a stakeholder group that helped form this new series.
Also missing from that group was L39ion of Los Angeles — the team that dominated the USA CRITS events whenever it showed up. L39ion hosted its own event, Into the Lion’s Den, on Halloween last year.
American Criterium Cup 2022 schedule
| Event | Date | Location |
| Sunny King Criterium | April 9 | Anniston, AL |
| MVP Health Care Rochester Twilight Festival | May 21 | Rochester, NY |
| Saint Francis Tulsa Tough | June 10-12 | Tulsa, OK |
| Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic | June 19 | Harlem, NY |
| Bailey & Glasser Twilight Criterium | July 9 | Boise, ID |
| Salt Lake City Criterium | July 16-17 | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Intelligentsia Cup | July 30 | Lake Bluff, IL |
| Littleton Criterium p/b Audi Devner | August 6 | Littleton, CO |
| IU Health Momentum Indy | August 27-28 | Indianapolis, IN |
| The Bommarito Audi Gateway Cup | September 2-5 | Saint Louis, MO |
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