Four corners, flat and fast, smack dab in the middle of downtown and directly in front of the capitol building. This is crit racing in its purest form. There are no sketchy corners, tricky roundabouts, or energy-sapping hills. Just a four-corner crit that is nothing but speed. 

There were only a few laps to go when legendary announcer Brad Sohner shouted into his microphone, “Super Prime on the next lap! Downer Super Prime on the next lap!” That meant the winner of the next lap was set to take home $5,000…five thousand dollars in cash. 

Some riders sacrifice their chance at the race win to go for the super prime, and that’s exactly what HigherDOSE RENOVA had in mind as Odette Lynch came to the front. The Australian let out the sprint with 200 meters to go, and it was her teammate Claudia Marcks who sprinted to the five grand while hometown favorite Skyler Schneider finished second. 

Once the dust settled after Tulsa Tough, the world’s best crit racers made their way to the Midwest for the Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD). While Tulsa was the explosive season opener, ToAD would be a completely different beast. Tulsa’s ACC race took place on the first night of the three-day competition, whereas ToAD’s ACC race is on the 10th day of 11 straight days of racing. That means there will be tired legs in Milwaukee, good for some riders but a nightmare for others. 

We could see the strongest and most experienced riders come to the front, those who have handled 11 days of crit racing in a row. But you can never discount the young guns, those with a fire in their belly and a willingness to dive through the final corner faster than anyone thought possible. We will soon find out on June 27th with Race #2 of the American Crit Cup. 

Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) and Dario Rapps (DCC) won the opening races of Saint Francis Tulsa Tough on Friday night at the Blue Dome Criterium in Oklahoma and took the first leader's jerseys for the American Criterium Cup series. Cycling News reflects on the electrifying first ACC race of the season.

In no way is it controversial to say that Tulsa Tough stands as the greatest among equals when it comes to criterium racing. In its 20-year history riders have determined that it is the most important three consecutive days of the season. The race weekend contains the opening night of the American Criterium Cup, the premier national criterium series, at Blue Dome and the fourth monument of racing at Cry Baby Hill. In this article, the Criterium Nation Chronicle reflects on takeaways from criterium racing’s biggest weekend.

With 200 meters to go in the Blue Dome Criterium, Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) was in fourth position, eating wind as Kendall Ryan (Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing) rounded the final corner. The US National Champion went all the way to barriers as Schneider wound up her final kick. Ryan launched her sprint as the drone whirred overhead, and with 30 meters to go, it looked like Ryan had it wrapped up. But in the most unbelievable fashion, Schneider accelerated again on the far side of the road, and threw her bike to beat Ryan by millimeters. 

It was the closest finish ever in the history of the American Criterium Cup, and there couldn’t have been a better way to open the ACC season. 

When you see the American Crit Cup (ACC) in-person, you can expect to stand two feet from the barriers and feel the whoosh of the wind as the pack flies past. You’ll see the world’s best crit racers 50 times in an hour, at speeds so high they look like a blur. You are not only watching the race, but you are feeling the race with the pumping in your chest and the goosebumps on your arms. 

The ACC brings that feeling to some of America's biggest cities, while also platforming a season-long points competition that crowns six different overall champions in the men's, women', and Junior fields. In 2026, the series is back with a six-race series that is more unpredictable than ever before.

The American Criterium Cup came to a close at the end of August at the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup. The season has been chock-full of exciting racing that began at the beginning of June at the St. Francis Tulsa Tough and the Blue Dome Criterium. 

Aline Seitz and Maurice Ballerstedt won the ACC individual titles at the Giro Della Montagna. Richard Holec and Josephine Peloquin took wins on the day as the ACC wrapped up its six stop series.

The American Crit Cup will take its final bow this Sunday at the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup in St. Louis.

The American Crit Cup has been a thrilling series thus far with five incredible races across the country over the summer.

Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) and Richard Holec (Cadence Cyclery) took sprint wins in the Windy City at race five of the ACC.

For the most part, top-level American criterium racing takes the less beaten path in its locations around the United States. College towns, up-and-coming cities, and suburban environments are staples.

On a course that tends to favor sprinters, today at Boise Twilight, it was all about the attackers, with Sofia Arreola and Luke Fetzer winning on late-breaking attacks.

After a foray into the upper midwest of the United States at the Kwik Trip Tour of America’s Dairyland, the American Criterium Cup moves westwards for the historic Bailey Glasser Boise Twilight Criterium on Saturday, July 19, 2025, in downtown Boise, Idaho.

The American Criterium Cup wrapped up its first three races in June with the Kwik Trip Tour of America’s Dairyland and the Cafe Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic p/b ISCorp.

Aline Seitz and Ben Oliver took sprint wins on the third stop of the American Criterium Cup and the Cafe Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic.

The American Criterium Cup continues Saturday, June 27, 2025.

Lucas Bourgoyne (Cadence Cyclery) and Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) took sprint wins on night one of the Utah Crits series in Sandy.