Brody McDonald and Marlies Mejías earn omnium titles at Armed Forces Cycling Classic with consistent podium finishes at two-day event

In a doubleheader of women’s and men’s races at the Amazon Armed Forces Cycling Classic, the omnium titles were won by Marlies Mejías (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28/Deloitte) and Brody McDonald (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling), both riders twice finishing on the criterium podiums.

Mejías sprinted to second in both the Capitol Cup and the Clarendon Cup to claim the overall women's title. Similarly, McDonald took a pair of third places to secure the overall men's title. This was the second consecutive omnium title for Mejías at AFCC.

“Winning the omnium is always special because it reflects the strength of the whole team across the entire weekend. Of course, finishing second both days leaves us hungry, as racers, we always want to win, but I am proud of how we raced together, controlled the race, and kept fighting until the end," Mejías said in a team statement.

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Skylar Schneider (L39ION of Los Angeles) sprinted to her first major victory of the season. A week ago at Tour of Somerville, the sprint went to Mejías, and this time Schneider relied on her full team to position her in strong winds on the course.

"The strong cross-headwind into the sprint was something we discussed more than anything else about the race. So I knew I wanted the right side. Coming out of the last corner I was about 10th wheel, which is not what I normally would want," Skylar Schneider told organisers. She would finish third in omnium standings.

The women's win on Sunday went to USPro criterium champion Kendall Ryan (Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing), going to the top step of the podium after a second place last year. Mejías took another second and a pair of HigherDOSE-Renova riders followed, Andrea Cyr third and Odette Lynch fourth. It was an emotional victory for Ryan, who's grandfather died recently.

"There are a lot of emotions right now. I found out that my grandpa died a couple of days ago. He was in the Marine Corps, so this [win] is to honour him," she said at the finish to organisers. "Yesterday I came up short and I felt like I let everyone down. Today was definitely redemption."

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The weekend of cycling events, organised by Arlington Sports, has been held in the Washington D.C region for 28 years, known today as the Amazon Armed Forces Cycling Classic (AFCC). This year's pro races returned the weekend after Memorial Day - Capitol Cup on May 30 in Washington, DC and Clarendon Cup on May 31 in Arlington, Virginia.

USPro elite men's criterium champion Lucas Bourgoyne (Cadence Cyclery pb Waldo Racing) carried the stars-and-stripes jersey across the line for a tight sprint win on Saturday, just ahead of last year's victor Dario Rapps (DCC Alpecin), and McDonald in third.

Rapps almost went down when his back wheel skidded sideways on a manhole cover in the final 50 metres of the sprint.

"The squad executed the plan perfectly, and I felt ready to take the top step. But when you’re throwing down peak watts in the final stretch, a manhole cover mid-sprint changes everything. Lost traction, went fully sideways, and had to rely 100% on pure reflex to stay on the bike. Stoked to save the bike and still grab a podium spot," he wrote on Instagram.

On Sunday, Sebastian Brenes Mata (Good Guys Racing NYC) took the victory in a bunch sprint ahead of Alejandro Che (Kelly Benefits Cycling) and McDonald. Rapp was two minutes back and lost any chances at repeating his omnium victory from a year before.

Consistency on the podium rewarded McDonald with the Omnium title this time. Che finished runner-up in the ominium standings, while Bourgoyne was third overall.

"It’s incredible to represent Modern Adventure Pro Cycling In our nations capital. It fills me with pride to wear the red and gold. Thank you to the team for putting it on the line, and believing in me. It’s hard not to be successful when you have legends like Bobby Julich in your ear and Adrian Hedderman in the pit," the 23-year-old said.

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Results - Capitol Cup

Results - Clarendon Cup

Omnium Results