FIVE HEAD STATESIDE FOR MARYLAND CYCLING CLASSIC WOMEN

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto are excited and motivated for a trip across the Atlantic to Baltimore, USA, for the inaugural Maryland Cycling Classic Women.

The touring five representing the team on American soil for the first time since the 2019 Colorado Classic will be Neve Bradbury, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Tiffany Cromwell, Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka, and Generation recruit Jule Märkl. Tiffany, who also raced in Colorado six years ago, has built plenty of USA racing experience in the meantime – particularly on gravel, where she most recently won the Unbound 100-mile.

Asked whether switching to the American asphalt gives her an extra boost, she said:

“I’ve always enjoyed racing in the US, whether it be on the road or on gravel, but I think the extra motivation/excitement more comes from the fact that it’s a new race for me. That doesn’t come around that often these days. But yes, it will be fun for a change to go stateside for a road race, as the last one I did in the US was the old women’s Colorado Classic back in 2019. And, the US always love a sporting event, so I’m sure there will be a nice atmosphere.”

First held in 2022 for men, the Maryland Cycling Classic has quickly become a standout in a fading North American UCI racing scene. This year, for the first time, both men’s and women’s editions will be run, sharing a demanding 28.8km circuit entirely within the city of Baltimore. Starting harbourside, the women’s race covers four laps for a total of 115.5km and 1179m of climbing, with short, punchy ascents and a 500m cobbled sector. Sprint and QOM points will be up for grabs at the finish line and atop the Northern Parkway climb – the longest ascent on the circuit at 900m, averaging 5% with ramps hitting 10%.

Tiffany breaks down racing on a course of this nature:

“Honestly it’s hard to say how the race will unfold. I expect it to be agressive. You have a bunch of strong US teams who typical race mainly crits and will be good on the city street racing circuits, embracing the opportunity to show themselves to WorldTeams. Then you have the few WorldTeams making the trip across as a chance to showcase their US sponsors, fight for UCI points and/or fine-tune form ahead of the world champs. There are a couple of short climbs on the circuit, so I could see it can go both ways as either a breakaway or a sprint. It seems like the type of course that can be unpredictable with the outcome, especially as this is the first time the women have raced here. In the past, it was only a men’s pro race and they raced a different course.”

CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto will be one of three WorldTeams or ProTeams on the start line. Head of Sport Adam Szabó shares the team’s motivation for adding this new American one-day race to the calendar.

“After the 2020 pandemic, all international travel was halted, as well as the racing. However, we will always feel motivated to race globally and to have as many races overseas as we can. We were pleased to come to the Maryland classic in the USA when we were approached by the race organiser. Moreover, it is a little bit of a test for us to see how we will cope again with racing in the USA. We would like to return to more global international races.”

For the trip as a whole, there are a couple of potentially tricky aspects that Tiffany isn’t overlooking:

“I think the strength of the US riders will be underestimated. There have always been many strong US riders, but sometimes they’ve struggled to showcase their strength on the smaller and more technical roads that European racing often faces. Whereas, when you race them in the US where the roads are generally bigger and less technical, you see a different side to American riders. Then, just from our side we’re coming in to the US quite late, so I think this will be something some of our riders aren’t used to. Dealing with long haul travel, time zone changes, and then racing straight away. Let’s see how the body and legs react, but this is one thing that I think I probably have the most experience with in our team – from this side I think I am covered.”

HOW TO FOLLOW 

Maryland Cycling Classic Women | UCI 1.1 | Sat, Sept 06 | 114.2km | 1237m elevation | Start: 8:30 EDT – Fastest finish: 11:40 EDT (17:40 CET). LIVE 8:00 EDT.

Live international coverage can be found from 8:00 EDT (14:00 CET) on Youtube, with a 30 minute preview show before action gets underway. Stay updated on X with #MCC25, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for team updates.