Mani second as Killips beats McGill in battle for third in Baltimore
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Annemarie Worst (777) takes victory in the women's elite race day 2 at Charm City Cross 2022(Image credit: Bruce Buckley)
Podium of the women's elite race day 2 at Charm City Cross 2022: Annemarie Worst in first, Caroline Mani second and Austin Killips third(Image credit: Bruce Buckley)
Podium of the women's elite race day 2 at Charm City Cross 2022: Annemarie Worst in first, Caroline Mani second and Austin Killips third(Image credit: Bruce Buckley)
Annemarie Worst (777) took her second win of the weekend on day two at Charm City Cross in Baltimore on Sunday. The Dutchwoman soloed to the victory under rain and through slippery and muddy conditions ahead of runner-up Caroline Mani (Alpha Groove) and third-placed Austin Killips (Nice Bikes).
"Rain, rain, rain," Worst said at the finish. "It was nice but the course was very muddy and slippery, more so than yesterday, but today's race was nice. Next week's World Cup will be full gas from the start, so I tried to do a fast first lap and see how my shape was, but it was hard."
The first two rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup are held in Waterloo on October 9 and Fayetteville on October 16.
Day two at the Charm City Cross, a C2 event, was part of the third round and sixth race of the USCX series. It was held under rainy conditions on a reverse-route to the previous day's C1 event.
Worst pushed through to the lead during the opening lap and opened a gap by the start of the second. Closely followed by Sidney McGill (OneBike) and then a few seconds to Killips and Mani.
Worst's solid technical skills, riding the muddy technical sections rather than running and powering through the sluggish straightaways, gave her a leg up on her rivals as she appeared relatively comfortable on the circuit.
The Dutchwoman opened a sizeable lead by the end the second lap with 16 seconds in hand. Mani raced through the finish line in the second spot, as Killips and McGill reconnected, and Raylyn Nuss (Steve Tilford Foundation) tried desperately to put herself back into podium contention.
Worst had pushed her lead out to 35 seconds ahead of Mani, but the race between Killips and McGill for third place heated up, each passing the other on sections of the circuit that suited each better.
As Worst raced through the finish to secure her second win of the weekend ahead of runner-up Mani. Killips gained the gap she needed on the last lap to take third place, with McGill in fourth.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
