USA Cycling names Maryland County for 2018/19 Road Nationals

[Robb Chastain]

The front-page headline of the Herald-Mail newspaper in Hagerstown, Maryland on Tuesday, May 16, 2017: County to Host National Bicycle Event. The story is that USA Cycling has named Washington County as the host site for the 2018 and 2019 Amateur Road National Championships. The dates of the 2018 event are July 26 to July 29.

 

[Robb Chastain]

This is the link to the Herald-Mail report on USA Cycling's selecting Washington County:

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/washington-county-to-host-usa-cycling-s-amateur-road-national/article_3bca7da5-468e-5cbb-a69b-5b6d0727f949.html

 

[carton]

Interesting piece of news. Hope they find some hills there, what I know of Maryland is pretty flat.

 

[Irondan]

Re:

Interesting piece of news. Hope they find some hills there, what I know of Maryland is pretty flat.

Yeah, seems like an odd place for a National Championships race unless they're tailoring it for the sprinters.

$$$ reigns supreme once again...

 

[Robb Chastain]

I don't know anything about the planned course--I am just a fan to the north of Hagerstown by about fifteen miles--but Washington County is partly flat--Hagerstown Valley--and partly hilly--Appalachian Mountains, so I would expect something exciting, hope so anyway. And I know this from personal experience: Back in '83 when I was a young soldier stationed in DC and a USCF Cat. 3, I raced a crit in downtown Hagerstown and one of the streets was so steep I had to push my bike to the top after pulling a foot out of a toe-clip. And the city still hosts a big annual criterium and so their racing cred is real and it is sort of a big deal around here, as a famous San Diego anchorman might say. And travel-wise, Hagerstown is convenient to DC and Baltimore and other cities and states throughout the East Coast, it is at the junction of I-81 and I-70. And from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, take the Breezewood Exit from the west or the Carlisle Exit from the east and soon enough you're in Hagerstown. Plus there is an airport in Hagerstown with shuttle flights to BWI and regular flights to Pittsburgh and other cities. And the Gran Fondo National Championship is held in neighboring Frederick County each September and that has a lot of clmbing--it is an epic event, a 100-mile wish-you-were-here postcard of climbing and suffering and competing and dueling and, for one participant in '13 in the final timed section, sitting at the edge of the road and just thinking about things until getting picked up by the support car and ferried to the top of that climb where he got back on his bike and rode the final miles back into Frederick. And he must have been steamed about needing a break--he flew down that descent and left me in the dust and that's okay, I was really enjoying my ride on a Specialized demo bike and I took my time getting back to the finish so I could be like Cinderella for as long as I could. So, for sure, this area has lots of great roads and events and I think these road championships are going to be special weeks for competitors and fans alike.

 

[Robb Chastain]

Re: USA Cycling names Maryland County for 2018/19 Road Natio

An annual three-stage race was held this weekend in Washington County--Hagerstown area where the Nationals will be held next year and the year after--and this was the local coverage of the first stage:

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/sports/tour-of-washington-county-cyclists-rise-to-occasion-for-hilly/article_742e4bce-53ca-11e7-8c5c-b31f4c67e14e.html