In June under the lights in Tulsa, Oklahoma the American Crit began with the Blue Dome Twilight Crit in the revitalized downtown of the mid-western city. Three months later, in a very different neighborhood in a different mid-western city just up the I-44 from Tulsa, the ACC wrapped up with the Giro della Montagna. Between those races, the ACC traveled across the country on a week-by-week basis tackling the most competitive and historic criteriums in the country.
Every stop along the way saw new faces and new contenders, but throughout it all one thing was consistent: the ACC always brought more intensity, bigger fields, and a season of intrigue as the top teams and riders of the domestic scene hunted points for their overall tally. With the final curtain call of the Gateway Cup fresh in everyone’s mind, we thought we would take a look back at the moments that made the season the thrill that it was.
The American cycling season is split into two halves. For the first half of the season, stage racing and criteriums provide parallel paths that divide the American peloton in two leading to the national championships. Then, as spring turns to summer in June, it’s all about crits until fall starting with the fearsome Tulsa Tough Omnium. As it has for the past two years, the ACC has taken the first night’s Blue Dome Twilight Criterium as its first summer stop with a fast-paced figure-eight crit for the sprinters offering the first chance for points.
Duly, the stars of American cycling showed up in force including Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step) who was fresh off of his first participation at the Giro d’Italia and Coryn Labecki (EF Education-Oatly) who was fresh off her second consecutive pro crit title. In the men’s race, Lamperti used his WorldTour fitness to take a memorable win where he also managed to grab the gambler’s prime as the bell rang with one lap to go. Labecki, however, was unable to overcome the speed of Kendall Ryan and a huge L39ion of Los Angeles lead out. Crucially, Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) took second and began building her season-long campaign for the ACC overall leaders jersey.
After Tulsa, it was off to the Great Lakes and the eleven-day Kwik Trip Tour of America’s Dairyland, and the 45th running of the Downer Avenue Criterium. Downer also served as the ACC stop this go around, with the one-mile, triangle-type course providing the second stop of the season.
In the women’s race, the weather proved to be the big factor as rain pounded the Milwaukee neighborhood in fits and starts. Kimberley Stoveld (Automatic-Abus) was the rider intent on taking advantage of the adverse conditions as the time-trialist sent two big attacks during the 75-minute race. The second attack proved to be the race-defining move as Stoveld quickly carved out a huge advantage. Kaitlyn Agnew (ButcherBox) was the only rider who stayed in the same area code as Stoveld during the final few laps, nevertheless, Stoveld kept her pace and soloed to a memorable win well ahead of Agnew and the rest of the field.
The men’s race followed similar beats, although with less rain as a massive field took on their 75-minute race. With no Luke Lamperti, the ACC lead was up for grabs, and the team that looked set on grabbing the reigns was Reign Storm Racing as they had dominated the two Wisconsin races leading up to Downer. The team was racing for a sprint, however, when their fastest sprinter Alfredo Rodriguez found himself in a move with a handful of laps left to race the team had to improvise. And improvise they did as Bryan Gomez took a huge flyer with two laps to go, taking the win and setting the tone that Reign Storm would hold for the rest of the summer.
Bailey Glasser Boise Twilight Criterium is always a huge stop on the summer calendar as the Idaho state capitol takes center stage at the west’s most historic criterium. The race is known for a quick four-corner lap that is one of the fastest in the country every year with laps frequently running in under a minute for the men. This year, the race was made more difficult with triple digit temperatures before the races began in the mid-summer evening.
The women’s race saw a small field take to the start, but didn’t stop the dynamic action of the racing. Schneider, who took the red leaders jersey with a podium finish at Downer, was the main aggressor of the race and after the mid-race ACC sprint pulled a group of six up the road. In an instant, the gap ballooned out and a handful of laps later the six riders made contact with the remainder of the peloton a lap up. With only five other riders to contend with for the final win, Schneider duly delivered a decisive sprint for her fourth consecutive win in Boise and added to her burgeoning lead in the ACC as both previous ACC race winners did not start in Boise.
For the men, the racing was constantly shifting as the peloton looked to try and break things up before the sprint as the supremacy of the Reign Storm train seemed clear. Luke Lamperti was one of the big driving forces of the race as the Soudal Quick-Step rider was making his last stop on the US criterium scene before heading back to Europe and he made his presence felt with a couple big attacks and a few big laps closing down moves to various breakaways. Ultimately, this action hit a crescendo when sixteen of the strongest riders in the race found themselves in a breakaway with only a few laps remaining.
That move proved to be too much strength in one breakaway as it all came back together with around three laps to go. In the sprint that followed, Reign Storm got it right, winning with Jordan Parra and Danny Summerhill crossing the line hand in hand. The team did lose Gomez to a crash on the last laps that also took out Noah Granigan from contention, but in the end, the team still got their second ACC win and added to their lead in the ACC overall team and individual standings.
The Salt Lake Criterium p/b LHM|CC is the new race on the block in the ACC in only its fifth edition, however, the race offers a dynamic course in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains. This year the race is the fourth stop on the ACC and brought a new venue into the fold with a rolling course around the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium in Sandy, Utah.
The hilly course made for an action-packed women’s race as the field split and a large breakaway went up the road containing the main race favorites: Kendall Ryan and Skylar Schneider. Ryan had been hoping for a sprint, but ended up in the move after marking Schneider. Ultimately, the move was a fruitful one for Ryan who was faster than Schneider on the uphill drag to the line and took her second ACC win of the season. Schneider, although frustrated, grew her lead in the ACC lead to 20 points as it was her fourth straight podium finish.
The men’s race was less aggressive as Reign Storm continued to show their dominance. Nevertheless, that dominance slipped slightly in the last lap when Ulises Castillo launched from the peloton and caught everyone by surprise. Castillo, a long-time pro on the domestic scene, was strong enough to keep the acceleration going the full lap around the stadium and punched the air for a surprise victory ahead of the Reign Storm duo that won in Boise.
After the Mountain West swing it was back to the midwest for the eastern-most race of the ACC season at the IU Health Momentum Indy series Mass Ave Crit. The race was a staple of the ACC for the first two seasons of the series, but 2024 was the first season where the five-corner Mass Avenue crit flew the ACC banner. With five corners and tight roads, the race was one that many riders seemed to have circled on their calendar.
One rider who certainly had the race down as a target was Marlies Mejias (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) who won the race the previous year. The Cuban sprinter has a knack for tricky sprints and technical courses and the Mass Ave Crit fits that description to a T. Sure enough, even with the power of Skylar Schneider and the team depth of DNA Pro Cycling who had been consistent all season, Mejias was all point every step of the race and produced a massive sprint to take the win at the end of the 70-minute race.
The men’s race was, once again, Reign Storm versus the field for 70-minutes of racing. The big shake-up, however, came in the form of one flying Kiwi. Josh Burnett from the MitoQ New Zealand Project attacked solo early on in the race in what looked like a suicide mission. Quickly as the laps ticked by, it was clearly anything but as Burnett pushed his gap out so far that he was closer to the rear of the peloton that the front of the peloton was to him. Reign Storm eventually mounted a chase with their full team, pulling Burnett back with one lap left to race, setting up a sprint that saw the team’s top two sprinters go one-two again with Alfredo Rodriguez taking first ahead of Jordan Parra.
From Indianapolis, the ACC found its way one state over to the ten-day Chicago Grit series. The ACC stop was Lake Bluff, a deceptively hard “L” shaped course in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Bluff. The course is six corners but is rather defined by its tight streets which stretch the peloton through every corner for every lap of the 70-minute races. Without much altitude change it is hard for a race long break to escape, but attrition still often has its way of setting up reduced group sprints.
In the women’s race, L39ion of Los Angeles was back at the ACC after missing the Indy Crit and were back to locking down the front of the race for their sprinter Kendall Ryan. As was the case in Tulsa, the L39ion team was able to use their strength in conjunction with the Miami Blazers, who were hoping the Skylar Schneider could outkick Ryan, to stifle any moves and set up a sprint. While Schneider and the Miami Blazer put in a great effort to turn the tables, the final pace of Ryan was too much and she took her third ACC win of the season.
The men’s race looked to be heading in the same direction without any moves gaining any kind of traction. That changed by virtue of Josh Burnett who took a huge flyer with three laps to go, heading off the front solo. Crucially, he was joined the next lap by Fergus Arthur from Reign Storm Racing which made all the difference as the dominant team had no need to continue the chase. The two quickly grew a decisive win and, as he had when the duo escaped early in the week, Arthur outkicked Burnett from the final corner to take Reign Storm’s fourth win with their fourth different rider.
After its sojourn to the Midwest the ACC took one more turn to Moutain Time for the Audi Denver Littleton Twilight Criterium and one more sure-fire date for the sprinters on a pan-flat, wide-open course at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
Skylar Schneider came into the Littleton stop of the ACC with the series overall already locked up after podium finishes at all six stops before Colorado and was the favorite for the race. Even though her ACC lead had been sewn up, Schneider was still motivated for the race since she had only one ACC race win at that point in the season, despite her big lead in the standings and consistent podium finishes throughout the summer. Her big rival on the day was Lauren Stephens, who dropped in for a crit in the midst of her season as the top female gravel racer in North America. While Stephens launched several attacks, Schneider and her Miami Blazers team did enough to stifle any would-be breakaways and lock the race down for a sprint where Skylar showed the rest of the field a clean pair of wheels once again.
Reign Storm Racing had a similar scenario to Schneider as they entered Littleton having already locked up the individual and team overall titles. All that was left was gravy for the team in orange. Nevertheless, there were still the rest of the final positions in the ACC to play for and the battle was tight between Clever Martinez (Rockland Development), Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin Outlaws), and Ben Oliver (Above + Beyond Cancer). Those three individual riders had been making the rounds to each of the ACC crits and were constantly there or there about behind the top Reign Storm riders. Sure enough, in the final, it was once again Reign Storm leading the way with Alfredo Rodriguez winning in the end. Ben Oliver, however, pushed Rodriguez close even if he couldn’t come away with the win.
Last but not least, the ACC was back for one final stop a month later in St. Louis, Missouri for the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup at the Giro della Montagna. The race, which centers around the Italian neighborhood of “the Hill” in southwest St. Louis, was the perfect bow for the season with a rolling, long one-mile course that provides a dynamic outcome whether its a sprint or a breakaway.
The women’s race was the former as Marlies Mejias took the sprint victory ahead of Skylar Schneider and Alexis Magner (L39ion of Los Angeles). There was a late move from Rebecca Lang (Fount Cycling) and Jennifer Wheeler (Kingdom Elite) that almost stymied the sprinters, but they were brought back through the bell by a combined chase from the Miami Blazers and L39ion of Los Angeles. Yet, by the line it wasn’t a L39ion or Miami jersey, but instead the kit of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24 and Marlies Mejias who took her second ACC win of the season and her third win in a row at the Giro della Montagna.
While the women’s race went to the favorite, the men’s race went instead to the underdog as Juan Arango (Work Hard Be Humble) took a massive win with brilliant team tactics ahead of Lucas Bourgoyne and Alfredo Rodriguez. The race was defined by three riders stealing away in the final three laps including two Work Hard Be Humble riders and Johnathan Clarke. Preston Eye and Arango were the two Work Hard Be Humble riders in the breakaway and Eye put in a huge final lap to support Arango who was able to save energy and attack Clarke on the last last.
The men’s season has revolved around Reign Storm all season long. While they had a small hiccup on night one in Tulsa, the team took charge with Bryan Gomez’s win in Milwaukee and kept the train rolling through Gateway where Alfredo Rodriguez finished third. Behind the Reign Storm crew was the Austin Outlaws and Rockland Development who finished second and third in the overall standings by way of their sprinters Lucas Bourgoyne (Miami Blazers) and Clever Martinez (Rockland Development).
Parra was the leading scorer for Reign Storm and won the individual title ahead of his teammates Rodriguez and Danny Summerhill, who also won the mid-race green sprint jersey.
The women’s season was also punctuated by one consistent force in Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers). Schneider, who won the overall, finished on the podium in every race with two wins in Boise and Littleton. Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) finished second and Paula Muñoz (Goldman Sachs ETFs Racing) finished third.
DNA Pro Cycling was the winning team for the women with a full squad performing all season. McMullen was their top performer but the team also scored significant points from Makayla MacPherson who was also in the top ten on the final standings. The Miami Blazers were second in the final standings while Goldman Sachs ETF Racing rounded out the podium.
Skylar Schneider also won the mid-race point green jersey after a summer-long battle with Rylee McMullen.
Men’s ACC individual standings:
- Jordan Parra (Reign Storm Racing) – 92 points
- Alfredo Rodriguez (Reign Storm Racing) – 86
- Danny Summerhill (Reign Storm Racing) – 63
- Clever Martinez (Rockland Development) – 60
- Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin Outlaws) – 57
- Ben Oliver (Above + Beyond Cancer) – 53
- Bryan Gomez (Reign Storm Racing) – 38
- Noah Granigan (Miami Blazers) – 36
- Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon) – 33
- Luke Lamperti (Soudal Quick-Step) – 28
Men’s ACC team classification:
- Reign Storm Racing – 275 points
- Austin Outlaws – 71
- Rockland Development – 60
- Miami Blazers – 56
- Above + Beyond Cancer – 55
Women’s ACC individual standings:
- Skylar Schneider (Miami Blazers) – 112 points
- Rylee McMullen (DNA Pro Cycling) – 80
- Paola Muñoz (Goldman Sachs ETF Racing) – 68
- Alexis Magner (L39ion of Los Angeles) – 47
- Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) – 45
- Arielle Verhaaren (Automatic-Abus Racing) – 42
- Marlies Mejias (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24) – 41
- Makayla MacPherson (DNA Pro Cycling) – 37
- Samantha Schneider (Miami Blazers) – 31
- Regina Doty (LA Sweat) – 27
Women’s ACC team standings:
- DNA Pro Cycling – 164 points
- Miami Blazers – 151
- Goldman Sachs ETF – 114
- L39ion of Los Angeles – 100
- Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24 – 61
Final overall standings for the USA Cycling Criterium National Series
Elite Men
- Alfredo Rodriguez - 1188 points
- Lucas Bourgoyne - 1066
- Jordan Parra - 1045
- Ben Oliver - 880
- Clever Martinez - 561
Elite Women
- Skylar Schneider - 1727 points
- Rylee McMullen - 1125
- Paola Munoz - 1079
- Marlies Mejias Garcia - 1053
- Kendall Ryan - 762
Photos courtesy of the American Criterium Cup
