Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) was awarded the photo-finish sprint to win the inaugural women’s race at the Maryland Cycling Classic held in Baltimore.
Skalniak-Sójka was the first to launch her sprint from a four-rider breakaway that emerged just ahead of the final lap of the race, and she crossed the line by a whisker ahead of Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly), who was forced to settle for second place.
As soon as the catch was made, Jackson then counterattacked, but Skalniak-Sójka and Langley were quick to respond.
Emond led the race into the last three corners with Skalniak-Sójka on her wheel, followed by Jackson, and Langley into the final straightaway.
Skalniak-Sójka then launched her sprint first, but Jackson responded quickly, and in a drag race to the line, it ended up a photo-finish sprint between the two powerhouses with the Canyon-Sram rider taking the victory.
How it unfolded
The Maryland Cycling Classic celebrated its return this year with the addition of a 115.2-kilometre UCI 1.1-ranked race for women, competing on four laps of a 28.8-kilometre circuit that ran north along Faith Road to a mid-loop mountain prime, with a mostly downhill run-in to the finish line in Baltimore.
The inaugural race began in humid but temperate conditions, with Aegis’ Emma Langley going clear on the first of four laps.
When she was brought back, Emily Newsome (Fearless Femmes) jumped away, but she too came back on the first QOM, where Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly) claimed the maximum points over Melisa Rollins.
Kayla Davis (Cynisca) was the next to attack, and soon Kylee Hanel (Aegis) and Chloe Patrick (Cynisca) tried to bridge, but it all came back together before the end of the lap.
On the…
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