Leah Kirchmann back to criterium roots and winning ways with Denver Disruptors

Led by Leah Kirchmann, the women's team scored 69 points at NCL Cup opener in Miami Beach and the Denver Disruptors men added another 69 points, putting them in first place
Leah Kirchmann celebrates Denver Disruptors win at Miami Beach Invitational (Image credit: National Cycling League 2023)

Retirement for former WorldTour rider Leah Kirchmann lasted a brief few months, and it appears she never skipped a beat in the transition back to the peloton. The accomplished Canadian signed a lucrative contract to race for the Denver Disruptors, one of two US domestic elite squads formed by the National Cycling League organisation, providing her with an opportunity to remain in North America for the entire season.

She led the Disruptors with a huge points haul at the inaugural Miami Beach Invitational to boost the team to the top spot of the 10-team NCL Cup, 139 total points and a 44-point lead over second-placed Miami Nights. Two weeks later and back at a standard US-bred criterium competition, the start of the American Criterium Cup, Kirchmann helped her teammate Erica Zaveta reach the podium at the Athens Twilight Criterium, and finished fourth herself. 

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Jackie Tyson
North American Production editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).