In 2025, the organizers of the American Criterium Cup have officially confirmed an eight-race schedule for the fourth edition of this renowned collection of one-day US races for both elite women and men. The series follows an almost identical calendar with some geographical adjustments, creating a zig-zagging pattern across eight central and western US states. Racing kicks off on June 6 with the Friday night race at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough in Oklahoma and concludes on Labour Day weekend at the Gateway Cup in Missouri.

Key Modifications and Changes

Among the modifications, the Salt Lake City Criterium has moved from July to June 14 and now becomes the second stop, just one week after Tulsa Tough. However, the new venue for this race is yet to be confirmed. The Bailey & Glasser Twilight Criterium in Idaho has also seen a shift, moving from June to July 19. Previously, the Utah and Idaho races used to be back-to-back, but now there is a one-month gap between their dates, with the IU Health Momentum Indy in Indiana and the Historic Downer Avenue race (part of Tour of America’s Dairyland) in between. During the Chicago Grit week, the ACC stop will be on the final Sunday at the Fulton Market venue on July 27, a change from the previous Saturday race in Lake Bluff. Although there is a conflict with the new date for Boise being on the opening day of Chicago Grit, the racing in the Chicago area during that weekend is not related to the ACC. Another returning race is the Audi Denver Littleton Twilight Criterium in Colorado on August 2.

Race Highlights and Future Prospects

Mike Weiss, the event director for the Gateway Cup and manager of the ACC, expressed excitement about launching the fourth season. "The members events of the American Criterium Cup are excited to weave together eight of the best days of criterium racing in eight cities across the US," he said. The ACC Renaissance Financial Junior Series will also return in the 2025 season, highlighting the top 15/16 and 17/18 junior men and women. This program connects the future top US U18 cyclists with current professional riders through post-season mentoring and team camps.Last year, Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) and Jordan Parra (REIGN Storm Racing) won the individual titles in the American Criterium Cup, with Schneider also claiming the sprint competition overall. Danny Summerhill led wire-to-wire in the men’s sprint classification, and his REIGN Storm Racing squad dominated the men’s team standings. However, the women’s competition will see some changes next year as DNA Pro Cycling, the top women’s team, closed after 12 seasons. Three of the top four individual women will ride for new teams. Skylar Schneider has moved to the WorldTour with SD Worx-Protime, Rylee McMullen to Virginia’s Blue Ridge, and Alexis Magner to Cynisca Cycling.Last year, riders and teams shared a total prize purse of $100,000, with the top men’s and women’s teams earning $10,000 each. The individual prize money was paid 10 deep, and an additional $12,000 was split among the top three overall sprinters in each category. Weiss informed Cyclingnews that the final prize purse, awards structure, and series programming for 2025 would be announced in the coming months.All the ACC events offer 34 days of racing and a total prize money of over $500K. There is an additional purse at the end of the season for the top men’s and women’s Series, Sprint, and Team leaders.The ACC started with 10 events spanning the US in 2022, beginning in April with two races in the southeast. Two original races, Athens Orthopedic Clinic Twilight in Georgia and Sunny King Criterium in Alabama, have now moved to the USA Crits series, which is expected to announce a full schedule in the coming weeks.The ACC continues to include individual races that are part of long-standing, multi-day road race series, such as ToAD, the largest competitive road cycling series in the US with 11 consecutive days of racing in southeast Wisconsin, and Chicago Grit, 10 days of criteriums in the Chicago, Illinois area that were formerly called Intelligentsia Cup.The American Criterium Cup calendar for 2025 is as follows:Friday, June 6 – Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, Tulsa, OklahomaSaturday, June 14 – The Salt Lake City Criterium, Salt Lake City, UtahSaturday, June 28 – Kwik Trip Tour of America’s Dairyland, Milwaukee, WisconsinFriday, July 11 – IU Health Momentum Indy, Indianapolis, IndianaSaturday, July 19 – Bailey Glasser Boise Twilight Criterium, Boise IdahoSunday, July 27 – Chicago Grit, Chicago, IllinoisSaturday, August 2 – Audi Denver Littleton Twilight Criterium, Denver, ColoradoSunday, August 31 – Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup, St. Louis, Missouri