Charm City CX Day 1: Maghalie Rochette and Andrew Strohmeyer solo to victory in C1 races

Canadian Maghalie Rochette (SRAM/Seeker) and US cyclocross champion Andrew Strohmeyer (CXD TREK Bikes) soloed to win the C1 races of Charm City CX in Baltimore, Maryland, on day 1 of the third round of the 2025 US Cyclocross Series (USCX).

Set in Druid Hill Park, a 745-acre historic urban park founded in 1859, racers navigated a roughly 1.8-mile loop that wound through the Baltimore Zoo’s Mansion House Lawn. Now in its 21st year, and its 14th as a UCI-sanctioned event, the traditional Charm City Cross course challenged riders with a mix of pavement, grass, dirt, and obstacles.

In dry and fast conditions, Rochette, who currently tops the USCX leaderboard, secured her fourth victory of the season, crossing the line 34 seconds on Manon Bakker (CTW Fenix-Deceuninck). Pan-Am champion Sidney McGill (Lastig Off-Road Racing) took third place, a minute behind the winner.

The skies opened up in the men’s race where Strohmeyer, who was tied for the lead in the USCX standings before Saturday’s race, powered away to cross the line with a 43-second lead to claim his third victory of the season. Jules Van Kempen (Winston Salem-Flow) secured second place, finishing five seconds ahead of Kerry Werner (VeloMafia) who took third.

How it unfolded

Canadian rider Nico Knoll, in her first year out of the junior ranks, took the holeshot in the women’s elite race before a lead group formed on the punishing climb up Mansion Hill. Once again, the slope proved decisive as the quartet of Knoll (Steve Tilford Foundation), Rochette, Bakker, and McGill came to the fore.

The quartet quickly became a duo and then a solo rider as first McGill and Knoll lost contact, and then Rochette struck out alone, powering over the Scaffold Resource Flyover with a slender gap. From that point forward, she steadily stretched her advantage, extending it to more than thirty seconds at the finish.

Behind her, Bakker continued on solo while McGill and Knoll chased in vain, eventually crossing the line one by one. Caroline Mani (VeloMafia), a seasoned veteran of the Charm City course, rounded out the top five.

Weather conditions changed dramatically for the men’s elite race. The steady rain that began to fall added an unpredictable edge to the Baltimore course, with newly slick grass and potential for mud threatening to reshape the race.

Brunner, fresh off back-to-back wins in Rochester, launched hard from the gun to grab the holeshot. Close behind were Strohmeyer, Werner, Van Kempen, Canadian Tyler Clark (Caledon Hills Armada), and rising under-23 star Tofik Beshir (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.

Results

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