Historic Weekend Underscores Celebration of Women in Cycling During Maryland Cycling Classic Race Week

September 22, 2025

2025 Maryland Cycling Classic Celebrates Women’s Cycling

BALTIMORE (September 22, 2025) /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ – Race week for the Maryland Cycling Classic truly celebrated women’s cycling at the grandest scale and presented a once-in-a-lifetime platform. The entire weekend was built around women in cycling accentuating the past, present and future in historic fashion.

The race week started with a WECLOME BENIN celebration, honoring the participation of the first black African female team to participate in a major internationally sanctioned race. The reception was held at the African and American Pop-Up Art Gallery in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The event, presented in partnership with the Baltimore Times, a prominent African American news outlet, played host to approximately 200 guests and celebrated achievement. A “Dear Black Girl” exhibit within the curated gallery showcased the unique story of each of the four team members from Benin. It marked an international symbolic milestone for women of color. As Baltimore Times Publisher Paris Brown said: “This is the perfect platform to celebrate achievement by women of color. This is a night to remember, never to be replicated. Thank you Maryland Cycling Classic.”

The following night, the event’s Welcome Reception honored achievement in Women’s Cycling and celebrated the career of trailblazer Connie Carpenter Phinney, the first gold medalist in women’s road cycling at an Olympic Games. Phinney was humbled by the tribute which included a five-minute video which chronicled her career and impact on women’s cycling.

“It’s hard to put into words what this means to me,” Carpenter Phinney said at the tribute. “It’s great to be recognized but what I really truly appreciate is how the event has embraced women with this night and this weekend. I wish more people could see how special this is…what a night to remember.”

The welcome reception also presented a panel discussion with various elite-level women, of whom discussed the evolution of women’s cycling globally. The panel included Carpenter Phinney; 20-year-old American Olympic hopeful Chloe Patrick of Cynisa Cycling; EF Education-Oatley Director Carmen Small, a former world medalist; Australian Tiffany Cromwell of team Canyon/SRAM zondacrytpo, who competed in the inaugural Maryland Cycling Classic; and Kim Coats, the CEO of Team Africa Rising.

“It’s incredible to see the rallying point behind women’s cycling and this race,” said Coats. “For our girls from Benin, the reception for them has been overwhelming. One of our women had never been outside her country and the reception here has been amazing from the organization and the community.”

Cromwell, a long-time elite professional, added that it was great to see the organization take the time to celebrate women’s cycling, adding: “These events are important to increase dialogue and talk about how we can continue to evolve women’s cycling.”

The night’s keynote speaker was Kate Veronneau, the Director of Women’s Strategy at Zwift, and a major architect of the accelerated progress of the Tour de France femmes. She summarized the weekend and its importance.

“The first-ever women’s race was a historic milestone, bringing world-class racing to Baltimore and showcasing the city on the global cycling map,” she said. “The event was expertly produced, engaging the community while also sparking meaningful conversations about the future of the sport, from safety to inclusivity. I particularly enjoyed the Thursday night Welcome Reception at the beautiful Woodberry Kitchen, which honored the legendary Connie Carpenter Phinney while also introducing some new faces and voices in women’s cycling.”

As for the women’s race, 15 teams and 90 athletes made up the field, and from the gun raced hard, navigating the 500-meter stretch of cobbles and steep climb on the backside of the course.

The teams shined brightly with an incredibly competitive race, which ended in a photo finish. Poland’s Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) outsprinted three-time Canadian national champion Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatley), the top American team, for the win.

Skalniak-Sójka said the course and large finishing crowd motivated her in the final meters.

“I cannot speak for all the women here,” said Skalniak-Sojka. “But for me, this is a perfect race. Organization is very good. The crowd and people, they cheer for us all day.”

Everything was presented equal from race course to prize money to hotel accommodations to complete live race coverage from start to finish.

“Our goal from the start was to assure full equity, while also creating a 1 of 1 experience over the course of the race week, supporting the storyline of the inaugural women’s race,” said Steve Brunner, the event’s executive director. “A lot of credit to Terry Hasseltine for his unwavering support through the entire process. His belief in pushing through on the vision — and on all levels of engagement on and off the bike — was critical. Big chapeau to him.”

Hasseltine is the president of the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, the event’s owner. He said: “In my 30-year career, I have been blessed to have worked on so many great events, however, on September 6, 2025, one of my greatest achievements was reached. Women and men on the same course on the same day. It will forever be embedded into my memory and be denoted as one of my biggest achievements.”

Veronneau, who was recently back from the Tour de France femmes, summed up the weekend and the historic, never-to-be repeated nature of the weekend.

“Beyond the racing, the weekend was filled with fun social moments and offered a tremendous platform for both local and national sponsors to shine,” she said. “I had a blast with long-time supporters, including Kelly Benefit’s group and John Kelly. We rode through the countryside on Friday and then after the Team Introduction enjoyed the People For Bikes lively dinner on Friday. The whole weekend was a true ‘who’s – who’ of American cycling, bringing together some of the most impactful and celebrated personalities in the sport. Most importantly, the Maryland Cycling Classic introduced countless new fans to cycling, leaving a lasting impression of what’s possible when we come together to grow the sport.”

Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland
The Maryland Cycling Classic is owned by the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, a 501(c)3 tax exempt corporation and affiliated foundation of the Maryland Sports Commission, which is a division of the Maryland Stadium Authority, and was established in 2019 to further, promote, and move the State of Maryland forward through sports. Terry Hasseltine is the president. John Kelly is chairman of the Maryland Cycling Classic; Steve Brunner is Executive Director and the Race Director is Jim Birrell.

Media Contacts:

Craig Miller
KOM Sports Katrina Younce
MARC Global
719-339-6593
310-995-3619

Craig@KOMSports.com katrina@marcglobalcommunications.com

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