BALTIMORE — Blood, sweat, tears, and spandex.
Race day in Baltimore is over with a new winner in the second annual Maryland Cycling Classic.
This morning, the 121-mile-long race kicked off in Sparks, finishing around 5 p.m. along Pratt Street and Market Place.
The numbers for this year aren't out yet, but in 2022, the Classic had 70,000 fans watching on the course, 100,000 watching on local television, and over 100 million people watching worldwide.
Race sponsors say they hope this year's event is even bigger and is just the start of things to come.
"We want to try to make this a tradition for Maryland, and for Baltimore County and Baltimore City. And I think the people showed up last year and enjoyed it on the roads of Baltimore County in the streets of Baltimore City. And we anticipate the same again this year; I think everything's been one step up from last year in terms of what we learned and how to make it better," said John Kelly, who is with Kelly Benefits, a Maryland Cycling Classic sponsor.
The winner of this year's Classic is Mattias Skjelmose, a 22-year-old rider from Denmark.
