World-class bicycle racing will return to Greenville, South Carolina, on October 14 and 15 for the 22nd annual St. Francis Hospital Greenville Cycling Classic presented by Hincapie Sportswear. Hundreds of the country’s fastest professional and amateur cyclists will compete for the winner’s share of the $20,000 weekend purse of criterium racing. St. Francis Hospital and Hincapie Sportswear have returned as valuable sponsors of the event.
This year’s format will include a special $2000 purse for every different race on Saturday. "I wanted to do something extraordinary this year to really push the excitement to a new level," commented Rich Hincapie, longtime Greenville Cycling Classic race director. "By offering each category of racer an unprecedented $2000 purse, we should bring the best racers in the southeast to downtown Greenville."
Last year’s professional event saw four-time US Olympian and US national road race champion, George Hincapie and TIAA-CREF’s U23 national criterium and road racing champion, Craig Lewis battle it out in downtown Greenville. "We just hosted the US professional national road race championship and many of those riders will return for the races in October," added Hincapie.
The one-mile course will wind its way around the historic West End of Greenville, finishing near the Liberty Bridge at Falls Park. Races start at 9:00am on Saturday, October 14, with the day concluding in a 50-lap professional race at 6:00pm. The start and finish of all races will be located on Main Street between Camperdown Street and Augusta Street in downtown Greenville.
For more information, please visit www.hincapiesports.com.