Maryland Cycling Classic Partners with Davis Phinney Foundation

The Maryland Cycling Classic has announced the Davis Phinney Foundation as the official national charity of the international cycling event that includes 110 cyclists from 25 countries.

The 2025 Maryland Cycling Classic will be held in Baltimore on September 6, featuring both men’s and women’s races for the first time.

Davis Phinney, co-founder of the Davis Phinney Foundation, is one of the most decorated cyclists in American history with 328 career victories. In 1986, he became the first American to win a road stage in the Tour de France. He added another stage win in 1987 and placed second in the points classification in 1988, becoming the second American to finish in the top three of that competition.

“Davis is widely recognized as one of the most celebrated and decorated professional cyclists in American history, so this partnership makes sense for many reasons,” said Steve Brunner, executive director, Maryland Cycling Classic. “Through the vision of Davis and his wife Connie Carpenter Phinney, the Davis Phinney Foundation continues to raise the bar on Parkinson’s awareness and research. Our pledge is to help them carry that torch through all available channels forged around America’s biggest professional bike race.”

The Davis Phinney Foundation is a resource for programs, events and tools that offer support to help people living with Parkinson’s. Each year, the Foundation reaches more than six million individuals and families through its online resources, events, and community programs.

“We’re honored to partner with the Maryland Cycling Classic as their official national charity,” said Polly Dawkins, executive director of the Davis Phinney Foundation. “This partnership brings Davis’s cycling legacy full circle in a city that played an important role in his career and connects that legacy to the impact he’s making in the Parkinson’s community. We’re excited to return in a way that highlights how the power of the bike can improve lives, foster connection, and support people living with Parkinson’s every day.”

The Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, which produces the Maryland Cycling Classic, is pledging a donation and marketing support for the promotion and fundraising efforts of the foundation. The organizations also are developing a Pedaling for Parkinson’s event to be staged online during the winter.

In 1989, Phinney placed fifth overall in the Tour de Trump and won stages 8 and 9, the latter held in Baltimore. He also won several stages of the Tour DuPont which raced through Maryland in the 1990s. In 2000, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 40. Carpenter Phinney, who co-founded the Foundation with Davis in 2004, competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics as a speed skater and won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Road Race in Los Angeles.