The first edition of the Maryland Cycling Classic women's race marked a fresh start for the peloton but also the end of an era as the Ceratizit team completed their final race ever.
The German team announced last month that their sponsorship hunt had ended unsuccessfully, and they will fold.
For Daniek Hengeveld, whose career was saved when the team signed her while she was rehabilitating from a Tour of Britain crash last year that left her with a broken jaw, collarbone, and fractured ribs.
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"It is really sad. It's an end of an era where a lot of superstars came from," Hengeveld told Cyclingnews after finishing 20th in the Baltimore race.
"I think we all need to be really thankful for this team that they gave us all opportunities. We all have our own story about how we came to this team and how they gave us another chance. Like, example for me, last year with the crash, there was no WorldTour team that said 'come with us', except this team that said 'we still trust you'."
Knowing the team's future was uncertain, Hengeveld landed a three-year contract with Visma-Lease a Bike.
"Big thanks to this team for giving me that opportunity. So it's really sad that they need to stop, and hopefully there will be more teams like this, and in the future, they will hopefully have enough money to develop younger girls."
The team had hoped to end their last season with a victory, but it wasn't to be after EF Education-Oatly launched a late attack. Ceratizit's Marta Jaskulska made the move but finished fifth after losing contact amid relentless attacking. From the peloton, Ceratizit's Mylène de Zoete won the sprint for seventh behind race winner Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto).
"It's nice, but we were here for more," Hengeveld said.
"We knew if we wanted to do something or give ourselves more chances, we also needed to attack," Hengeveld said. "But we just missed a girl - we were just with four in the race, and EF and Canyon were with six. They just made it really hard for us."
Earlier in the race, Hengeveld bridged across to Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly), but the move did not stick, leaving the Dutch rider empty.
"We wanted to focus on the sprint with Mylena, because she felt good. And then they attacked in the feed zone," she explained of how EF Education-Oatly started the winning move.
"Luckily, Marta could follow, so she still probably had good legs. And then I was with Mylèna. Yeah, we just couldn't get it back."
While the Ceratizit riders end their seasons, most of the team and staff have managed to find positions elsewhere. Hengeveld heads to Visma-Lease a Bike, Jaskulska to Human Powered Health, and Kristýna Burlová to Cofidis, while other transfers have yet to be announced.
"You will see probably most of us back in the peloton next year," Hengeveld said. "There are still some girls available, so if other teams read this or hear this, please have a look at the riders that still don't have a team, because I think we're all really talented girls, and we all deserve to be in the peloton."
