Alabama’s annual premier professional cycling event weekend, the Alabama Cycling Classic, returns to the city of Anniston and Main Street Anniston’s Noble Street corridor on April 9-10. The day-one event, the Sunny King Criterium, is the first venue and stop of the 2022 North American Criterium Series managed between the 10 event organizations and USA Cycling.
“We’re excited to host the first event in the National Criterium Series,” said race director Marilyn Cullinane. “It’s a big step for American cycling, with an overall prize purse of $100,000. The series will bring the best professional teams to the city of Anniston for a thrilling day of racing in Anniston’s downtown proper.
“The Sunny King Criterium is one of the longest-standing criteriums in the nation,” Cullinane added. “We’re approaching 20 years on the national calendar and 35 years on the overall racing scene. We have a lot of history in bike racing in the southeast.
“We also have a robust live stream online for those that cannot join us, streaming nine hours of racing,” Cullinane went on to say. “It’s one of the best live stream shows in the nation. We have six cameras throughout the course and show replays as well.”
Cullinane said the Sunny King Criterium typically has 450 to 500 competitive athletes in attendance.
“We have juniors, masters and amateur categories, and then our professional mens’ and womens’ teams come,” Cullinane said. “Those are Domestic Elite and Pro Continental teams.”
The 2022 livestream broadcast presented by Sparklight will be viewable via www.annistoncycling.com and on various cycling media websites from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. CDT. The racing action will be called by professional sports commentator Brad Sohner and former professional cyclist and Sunny King Criterium champion Lauren Hall.
Alongside the Sunny King Criterium, the city of Anniston will once again host their annual Noble Street Festival with fun for everyone. There will be live music, the Sunny King Kid Zone, food and craft vendors, the Downtown Throwdown CrossFit competition and more.
“We are anxiously awaiting the 20th anniversary of the Noble Street Festival & Sunny King Criterium,” said Main Street Anniston director Jackson Hodges. “Last year’s event broke records in attendance and impact, and with the team we have around us I’m confident that 2022’s event will do the same.”
Day two of the Alabama Cycling Classic will be held on Sunday, April 10, in Piedmont, Ala. The Piedmont Criterium begins at 8 a.m. and wraps up around 3 p.m. with a total of eight races for the day. Both events have registration open to the public on www.Bikereg.com under the event names Sunny King Criterium and Piedmont Criterium.
About Alabama Cycling Classic
The Sunny King Criterium began in 2002 as Anniston’s signature cycling event for professional and amateur male and female cyclists from around the globe. A second day of racing was added in 2014 for amateur and elite athletes. The start/finish line for the criterium is located at 11th and Noble streets in downtown Anniston, with 21 categorized races for adults and juniors.
