Pro Women’s Cycling to Train in Pulaski County

Pulaski County Sports and Entertainment has announced that Cynisca Cycling, one of the world’s top women’s road cycling teams, will train in the Virginia destination for a training camp from August 31 to September 4, 2025.

“We are excited to welcome Cynisca Cycling to Pulaski County,” said Tim Miller, executive director of Pulaski County Sports and Entertainment. “Hosting a team of this caliber is a great way to showcase all the county has to offer and is the first step in a much larger cycling tourism strategy.”

The team will be preparing for the Maryland Cycling Classic, which will be staged in downtown Baltimore on September 7. The event includes both a men’s and women’s race, and will feature a mix of international and domestic teams with some of the best male and female racers in the world.

The three-year-old Cynisca Cycling team has been in existence since 2023, founded by Indiana native Chris Gutowsky, who also has ties to Southwest Virginia. Gutowsky was part of the staff, along with Miller, that produced the former Tour DuPont, an international men’s stage race that visited the region back in the 1990s with finishes in Roanoke, Salem, and Blacksburg, as well as starts in Wytheville and Bristol.

Cynisca has several former and current national champions on its roster. Riders attending the training camp and planning to compete in Baltimore include:

• Chloe Patrick (USA), winner of the individual time trial at the U.S. National Championships in 2025
• Caoimhe O’Brien (IRL), who finished second in the road race at the Irish National Championships in 2025
• Heide Franz (USA), who won a stage of the Vuelta a Portugal Feminina and finished third overall in 2025
• Natalie Quinn (USA), who won the Heusden Koers Dames in Belgium in 2025
• Allison Mrugal (USA), who logged numerous top-10 finishes for the team over the last two years.
• Katja Verkerk (CAN), who logged numerous top-10 finishes for the team in 2025

“Over the past three years, Cynisca Cycling has been dedicated to creating pathways for women cyclists to compete at the highest levels of racing both domestically and internationally, resulting in wins and podium finishes alongside some of the best cyclists in the world”, said Robin Farina, general manager of Cynisca Cycling. “We are grateful to Pulaski County for welcoming us, for providing an exceptional opportunity to train as a team, and for their support of our mission to elevate women’s cycling. It’s supporters like Pulaski County that make our success possible, and why we’ll head into Baltimore ready to compete for another victory.”