Trio of WorldTour squads return to Maryland Cycling Classic, while Ali Tetrick and Ellen Noble line up at SGT GRVL as women's mentors

Lidl-Trek, EF Education-EasyPost and Jayco-AlUla were among the early entries of men's teams confirmed for the 2025 Maryland Cycling Classic, scheduled for a third edition on September 9 in Baltimore, Maryland.

A total of seven squads from an expected field of 16 have been locked in for the ProSeries race, with Team Medellin-EPM of Colombia, Canada’s Hustle Pro Cycling, US-based Project Echelon Racing and a composite group for Team USA joining the three WorldTour teams.

“As an American team, the Maryland Cycling Classic is an important race for us. In fact, it’s the only chance we have to race in the United States [as a team]," said Steven de Jongh, head sports director for Lidl-Trek. "Every edition provides exciting racing, and we have great memories of Mattias Skjelmose winning in 2023."

The year Skjelmose won Neilson Powless finished runner-up for EF Education-EasyPost in a three-way chase group aheadd of Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) and Lucas Hamilton (Jayco AlUla). 

The inaugural Maryland one-day race in 2022 was won by Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech), with Powless on the podium in third just behind Nickolas Zukowsky (Human Powered Health).

The men's race has experienced three cancellations in its young history, the first two years, 2020-2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and then again last year because of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. 

Organisers announced in January that a women's 1.1-level race was added to the schedule, and will take place on the same day. The initial list of women’s teams was expected to be announced in the coming weeks by the Maryland Cycling Classic. A full schedule of community and festival events are also planned in the Baltimore area between September 2-7. 

Ali Tetrick and Ellen Noble among mentors for SBT GRVL's women's team competition

The sold-out SBT GRVL presented by Wahoo gravel event opened 100 spots earlier this spring exclusively for women, creating a GRVL Femmes Team programme. To sweeten the pot and encourage women to participate in amateur racing, participants can select from an all-star cast of mentors to help with their journey.

Gravel veteran Alison Tetrick and former US cyclocross standout Ellen Noble are among the six mentors. Also on the roster are Kate Veronneau, Lani Woods, Christie Tracy an dLeah Thorvilson.

"I know what it feels like to be one of the only women at the start line—or in the boardroom. And I also know how powerful it is to show up, not just for yourself but for others. Being a GRVL Femmes captain is about paying it forward and helping more women experience the freedom, community, and joy this sport brings. We’re better together," Tetrick told Cyclingnews.

"I love the prospect of helping women achieve their goals, and crossing the finish line proud of themselves. I've never done a gravel race of this caliber before, so in addition to being excited for the team challenge, I am excited to experience SBT for the first time," Noble shared with Cyclingnews. 

"I'm looking forward to getting to know my team members over the next few months and helping them prepare for success, and teach them a few things that I have learned over the 15+ years I've been racing at an elite level."

A minimum of three women can register as a team to gain entry and compete June 29 on the 79-mile route, which is two laps of a new course based from Hayden, Colorado. Entry costs $343.50 per person and includes the support of a mentor.

L39ION of LA leads pro field at Red Bull Roundabout Rumble

Don't expect to see NBA legend Reggie Miller on the start line this Saturday for the four-race Red Bull Roundabout Rumble, but he may be in the crowd and has a cycling jersey waiting for him. Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) created the criterium event with the support of his sponsor Red Bull, organising a day of criterium racing in Indianapolis where Miller starred for the Pacers for 18 seasons.

Miller, currently an NBA broadcaster for NBC, has become an avid mountain bike and gravel cyclist and plans to add Enduro and criterium races to his schedule this summer. He posted to Instagram that he intended to reach out to brothers Justin and Cory Williams to help with advice conditioning and riding in a pack. 

"He's a good friend, but Reggie's not racing [Saturday]. He has basketball going on now, but he's going to try to come out as an honourable guest. So we have a III-nine jersey for him," Justin Williams told Cyclingnews, noting the new design house (pronounced 'three-nine') he founded that produces apparel this year for Williams Racing Team clubs, L39ION of Los Angeles and Golden State Blazers.

"Our purpose and mission is to leave cycling better than we found it. Being able to bring a company like Red Bull into cycling is a step in the right direction. It's exciting to be a Red Bull athlete and have an event. They don't do a ton of events for athletes. The most exciting thing is the potential it has to grow and to change the sport," Justin Williams added.

There are four divisions competing on Saturday in a Roundabout Rumble, named for a unique course that passes around Indianapolis's famous downtown Monument Circle. 

Justin Williams will lead the L39ION of Los Angeles squad on Saturday for pro men alongside Ty Magner, Danny Summerhill, Alec Cowan, Robin Carpenter and Daniel Kalichman. Cory Williams will line up with Tyler Williams, Noah Granigan, Jim Brown, Brody McDonald and Eder Frayre for Golden State Blazers.

Women's pro teams will have rosters of four athletes each, with Kendall Ryan, Laurel Rathburn, Holly Breck and Llori Sharpe racing for L39ION of LA. Joyce Monton, Victoria Valasco, Melsey Perez and Alexandrine Obrand lead Golden State. All other pro teams in the races were created by organisers with composite rosters of local and invited riders, making it a way for rising stars to compete against two top teams based in the US.

A prize purse of $20,000 is on the line in the men's and women's pro divisions, split evenly among top five individual riders, top three teams, best young riders and "most valuable pedaler". The MVPs are determined by riders scoring the most cumulative points in three intermediate sprints and the final lap.

There are two amateur races - a men's Open and a women's Open, both for category 2/3/4 riders and juniors 16-18 - which begin at 5 p.m. EDT. The 40-lap women's pro race will start at 6:45 p.m. local time, followed by the 48-lap men's pro race at 8:00 p.m. The event is free to the public to attend in person, and will be streamed on Red Bull TV.

Analog Racing Team confirm schedule

Analog Racing, a women's elite cycling team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Focusing on road races, the team will compete at UCI 2.2 stage races Tour of the Gila in New Mexico and Tour de Bloom in Washington state, national road championships in Canada and the US, as well as Tour de Gatineau. 

A roster of five riders was confirmed for the inaugural season of Analog Racing. US rider Ava Hachmann, who rode the last two seasons for the now-defunct Denver Disruptors, led the squad at their opening stage race in February, going eighth in the general classification. 

"This schedule strikes a balance between quality and quantity to maximize the benefit of our small squad of five riders." Balance work, school and life.

The team launched with a goal to raise a minimum of $210,000 to pay a full-time salary to one team director and part-time salaries for six athletes and cover costs of "project fees". 

Ths goal over the next four years was to generate a strong stable of sponsors to provide full-time salaries for riders.

The roster includes US riders Gabrielle Lehnert, Emily Neill, Eleanor Roberts and Canadian Elizabeth Vaags. Neill had three podiums at Tour de Bloom last year, as a category 3 / 4. 

Riders would also compete at select criterium events, such as Athens Twilight Criterium and Tour of America's Dairyland, and possibly kermesse racing in Europe this summer.