Among the 15 professional teams expected to line up Saturday morning for the women’s race at the Maryland Cycling Classic in Baltimore, one might stand out the most — and resonate deeper — than the others.

The Benin National Team will become the first African squad to compete in a major event in North America when it participates in Saturday’s competition. The Maryland Cycling Classic is the highest level road cycling race in the United States and is endorsed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport’s world governing body that endorses, among others, the Tour de France.

That the four-member team will wind their way through a four-lap, 71.6-mile course on the streets of Baltimore where more than 60 percent of the residents are Black according to the most recent data from the

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