2025 Charm City Cyclocross C1/C2 Highlights Presented…

Saturday C1 Elite Women's Race

The opening day of the 2025 Charm City Cyclocross, stop number three of the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park and stop four of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Series, delivered dry, fast conditions and a thrilling women’s elite race. Canadian rider Nico Knoll (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing), in her first year out of the junior ranks, took the holeshot, quickly trying to establish herself as a top contender.

The Charm City Cross course is known for its punishing climb up Mansion Hill, and once again the slope proved decisive as the quartet of Knoll, Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker), Manon Bakker (CTW Fenix-Deceuninck), and Pan-Am champion Sydney McGill (LASTIG OFF-ROAD RACING) came to the fore. The quartet quickly became a duo as McGill and Knoll lost contact, leaving Rochette and Bakker to battle for control. Not long after, Rochette struck out alone, powering over the Scaffold Resource Flyover with a slender gap. From there she steadily stretched her advantage, extending it to more than thirty seconds at the finish.

Behind her, Bakker clung to second while McGill and Knoll chased in vain, eventually coming through one by one. Caroline Mani (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Velomafia p/b Bikeflights), a seasoned veteran of the Charm City course, capped the top five. The victory showcased Rochette’s commanding form and tactical sharpness, while Knoll’s aggressive start hinted at a promising future. The large, vocal Baltimore crowd added extra energy to the race, and the technical corners, off-camber descents, and fast straights gave the day a festival-like intensity that sets Charm City apart. With Rochette’s dominant ride setting the tone, anticipation is already building for the battles still to come on day two.

Results

1. Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker)

2. Manon Bakker (CTW Fenix-Deceuninck)

3. Sydney McGill (LASTIG OFF-ROAD RACING)

4. Nico Knoll (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing)

5. Caroline Mani (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Velomafia p/b Bikeflights)

Saturday C1 Elite Men's Race

The skies finally opened at Druid Hill Park as the men lined up for day one of the Charm City Cyclocross. With four rounds of dry, lightning-fast racing already in the books, the steady rain that began to fall added an unpredictable edge to the Baltimore course. The newly slick grass and potential for mud promised to reshape the race, and from the very start the intensity was palpable.

Eric Brunner (Boulder, Colo.; Competitive Edge Racing), fresh off back-to-back wins in Rochester, wasted no time in stamping his authority, launching hard from the gun to grab the holeshot. Close behind were Andrew Strohmeyer (Mount Airy, Md.; CXD Trek Bikes), Kerry Werner (Vinton, Va.; Velo Mafia Racing p/b Bikeflights), Jules Van Kempen (Chapel Hill, N.C.; Team Winston Salem – Flow), Tyler Clark (Caledon Hills Armada), and rising under-23 star Tofik Beshir (Arlington, Va.; CXD Trek Bikes). By the end of the first lap, the lead group was established, with Strohmeyer matching Brunner pedal stroke for pedal stroke, while Beshir hovered just off the back.

The decisive moment came on lap four, when Brunner slid out in a slick corner, snapping a BOA on his shoe. Strohmeyer seized the opportunity instantly, attacking hard and quickly opening a gap. Brunner remounted and chased, but the race had turned, and he never regained contact with the leaders. Strohmeyer pressed on with steady power, even clocking his fastest lap on the final circuit.

Behind, the chase splintered and reformed, with Van Kempen and Werner doing most of the work, joined at times by Beshir and Clark. In the final lap, Van Kempen launched a perfectly timed solo move to secure second. Werner then held off Beshir in a gritty sprint for third, while Clark rounded out the top five. Strohmeyer’s solo win, nearly 45 seconds clear, showcased his tactical sharpness on a rain-slick course, as the Baltimore crowd roared through another dramatic day of racing.

Results

1. Andrew Strohmeyer (Mount Airy, Md.; CXD Trek Bikes)

2. Jules Van Kempen (Chapel Hill, N.C.; Team Winston Salem – Flow)

3. Kerry Werner (Vinton, Va.; Velo Mafia Racing p/b Bikeflights)

4. Tofik Beshir (Arlington, Va.; CXD Trek Bikes)

5. Tyler Clark (Caledon Hills Armada)

Sunday C2 Elite Women's Race

After an early flat tire, Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker) continued her winning ways in the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series, taking the win on day two in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park. The main contenders stayed grouped together on the first lap until Rochette punctured on the pavement at the end of the lap. As she drifted back and pulled into the pit, her rivals seized on the opportunity.

“I heard someone yell that Maghalie had to pit,” says Manon Bakker (CTW Fenix-Deceuninck). “I thought, ‘That’s tough, but I have to go fast now. Sorry.’”

Bakker knew from previous experience that, if she could gain an early gap, she had a chance to hold off Rochette. On day one of Rochester Cyclocross, Rochette got caught behind an early crash and never made it back to Bakker, who went on to win that day.

“In Rochester, I made some mistakes when I started to chase,” Rochette recalls. “I went full gas the whole time and I never took time to reassess where I was. So, I was pinned. This time, after I got a fresh bike, I used every rider that I was catching to chill a little bit and then go. It was a better strategy and it worked.”

By the start of lap three, Rochette had reconnected with Sidney McGill (LASTIG OFF-ROAD RACING), who was chasing hard behind Bakker. “Once [Rochette] got back to me, I sat on her wheel and tried to go with her,” McGill says. “I almost got there, but just not quite.”

On lap four, Rochette was able to use the power section leading up to Mansion Hill to pull away from McGill and catch up to Bakker. On the next lap, Rochette went again on Mansion Hill, this time creating a gap that Bakker would never close.

“I think the hill was a little bit more punchy going up,” Bakker says. “I could ride the same speed, but then she had an acceleration to go a little bit faster uphill. She had a gap of 13 seconds. That’s not a lot, but too much to close.”

Rochette rolled into the finish to claim her second victory of the weekend and her fifth in the series. Bakker held on for second at 15 seconds back with McGill in third at 51 seconds off the lead.

Rochette has struggled at times in previous years at Charm City Cross, often succumbing to the historically hot and humid conditions at this race. “Charm City is growing on me,” she says. “In the first few years, it was not my favorite. But the crowds here are always awesome. People really get into the racing and they're loud and it's really fun. It really creates a good vibe and a good weekend. I'm charmed now.”

Rochette holds a commanding lead in the overall standings for the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series. This weekend, the series heads to Trek CX Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where Rochette hopes to keep her hot streak going and win the traditional Trek CX Cup winner’s hockey jersey.

“I've never won at Trek,” Rochette says. “I’ve had the World Cup leader’s jersey at that race, but I've never won. So that's my challenge next week. Let's see if I can get that hockey jersey.”

Results

1. Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker)

2. Manon Bakker (CTW Fenix-Deceuninck)

3. Sidney McGill (LASTIG OFF-ROAD RACING)

4. Raylyn Nuss (St. Louis, Mo.; Steve Tilford Foundation Racing)

5. Lauren Zoerner (Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Competitive Edge Racing)

Sunday C2 Elite Men's Race

Eric Brunner (Boulder, Colo.; Competitive Edge Racing) reclaimed the top step of the podium on day two of the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park. Dry and fast conditions returned for Sunday’s race on the Charm City Cross course and the reigning men’s elite Pan American Champion used it to his advantage, pulling away from his main rival, U.S. men’s elite National Champion Andrew Strohmeyer (Mount Airy, Md.; CXD Trek Bikes) in the closing laps.

Sunday’s victory was a bit of redemption for Brunner, who fell out of contention on day one after he went down in a crash and snapped the BOA dial on one of his shoes.

“Honestly, it was a bit of a mental victory for me today,” Brunner says. “Yesterday, I really struggled mentally after my crash and I just never got back in it. So today, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do something.”

As has been the case at every stop of the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series, Brunner and Strohmeyer attacked and countered each other throughout the race. The dry course conditions helped keep the pace high from start to finish with Brunner and Strohmeyer both turning sub-seven-minute laps the entire race. Brunner consistently found success on the long climb up to Mansion Hill, which finished off with a steep, punchy runup followed by a tricky off-camber section along the top.

“I was riding it pretty well, so that was the main section that I was trying to go for,” he adds. With three laps to go, Strohmeyer put in a big effort ahead of the Mansion Hill section, hoping to negate Brunner’s advantage. “I tried to go over the top of him, but he was right there on my wheel,” Strohmeyer recalls. “As soon as I was done, he countered and I just didn't have the legs to follow.”

Brunner was able to build on his gap in the waning laps and rolled in 11 seconds ahead of Strohmeyer to take his third victory in the series.

Behind the leaders, Kerry Werner (Vinton, Va.; Velo Mafia Racing p/b Bikeflights), Tyler Clark (Caledon Hills Armada) and Jules Van Kempen (Chapel Hill, N.C.; Team Winston Salem – Flow) fought for the final step on the podium. Clark made a move early to close the gap on the leaders, but ultimately was reeled back in.

“I think Tyler burned some matches at the beginning, trying to hang with those guys, so then it was just Jules and I battling at the end,” Werner says.

Like Brunner, Werner also saw Mansion Hill as his best opportunity to make a move. On the final laps, he was able to gap Van Kempen and secure his second third-place finish of the weekend.

“I knew I wanted the lead coming off a Mansion Hill because it was pretty easy to keep the speeds high without much effort and there weren't good power sections to pass people,” he recalls. “So, I knew that if I could come into pit two in the lead, I could hold it.”

After six races in the Trek USCX Cyclocross Series, Brunner and Strohmeyer have both garnered three wins, however after Brunner fell back to sixth on day one in Charm City, Strohmeyer holds the overall lead in the series. The series now heads to the final weekend at Trek CX Cup in Waterloo, Wisconsin.