The American Criterium Cup wrapped up its first three races in June with the Kwik Trip Tour of America’s Dairyland and the Cafe Hollander Otto Wenz Downer Classic p/b ISCorp. It was a showdown on the bluffs around Lake Michigan, with two massive pelotons battling for lucrative primes, the sprint win, and ACC points, as contenders for victory began to emerge. 

Aline Seitz took the opportunity to build on her point total without Kendall Ryan on the start line, who won the first two ACC races at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and LM || CC Utah Crits, and ignored the big money primes to go all in on the final sprint. On the men’s side, it was Ben Oliver who dropped into the ACC fray and snagged a victory as Brody McDonald pushed him all the way to the line and grabbed the lead in the ACC. All of it sets up a slew of tight competitions for the individual, team, and mid-race sprint classification. 

Before we get back underway in Boise next week, let’s delve into the ins and outs of the standings and the schedule for the rest of the season. 

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Five men are in the mix for the men’s title, as Seitz takes a sizable lead into the back half

Photo credit: Utah Crits

After last year’s domination of the individual standings, the 2025 ACC standings have been a much tighter affair. Most notably, the men’s field has been a rock fight with five men rising above the rest in the season-long points battle. 

Leading the charge after race three is Brody McDonald (Golden State Blazers). McDonald has yet to win one of the races; however, he has been the most consistent, with a second-place finish in Wisconsin as his high-water mark. Maurice Ballerstedt (Rose) is right behind him with just three points separating the top two. Danny Summerhill (L39ion of Los Angeles) is also a mark of consistency in third at six points in a rear. 

Lucas Bourgonye (Cadence Cyclery) has been more hit or miss; however, he is the only racer in the mix on the men’s side who has won a race with his sprint win in Utah. 

Men’s ACC Overall

  1. Brody McDonald — Golden State Blazers – 92 points
  2. Maurice Ballerstedt — Rose –– 89
  3. Danny Summerhill — L39ion of Los Angeles — 86
  4. Lucas Bourgoyne — Cadence Cyclery — 84
  5. Dusan Kalaba — Parks Law Firm All Stars — 75
  6. Tim Smith — Chaney Window and Doors Pasteria — 49
  7. Dario Rapps — DCC — 40 
  8. Ben Oliver — MitoQ NZ Cycling Project — 40 
  9. Nolan Church — Above and Beyond Cancer — 38
  10. Jordan Parra — Bikers Cycling Team — 36

For the women’s standings, Kendall Ryan (L39ion of Los Angeles) stormed to an early lead with wins at Tulsa and Utah. The national champion has a great strike record this season and will continue to be the favorite every time she makes it to the start line. 

Nevertheless, she hasn’t shown up to all the events, and Aline Seitz (UTC Butcherbox) has taken advantage of that in a huge way, The Swiss track rider has been the standout woman of the season with a top ten in Tulsa, a second place in Utah, and the win in Wisconsin. With the backing of a strong team – more on them later – Seitz looks to be firmly in the driver’s seat for the rest of the season, even if Ryan returns for the next three rounds. 

Outside of the two winners, Andrea Cyr (Fount Cycling Guild) has been rock solid as the next best racer. Cyr would be the first person to say she is not a sprinter, however, she has managed to turn it on at the right moment to hang around the standings in second place, 18 points off Seitz. With her power, if the rest of the women’s peloton gives her a small gap, she could take it to the house and be a major contender for the ACC overall. 

Women’s ACC Overall 

  1. Aline Seitz —  UTC Butcherbox — 98 points
  2. Andrea Cyr — Fount Cycling Guild — 80
  3. Kendall Ryan — L39ion of Los Angeles — 70
  4. Odette Lynch — Fearless Femme Racing p/b Robertet — 66
  5. Arielle Verhaaren — Automatic Racing — 56 
  6. Rylee McMullen — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 — 53
  7. Makayla Macpherson — CCB p/b Levine Law Group — 50 
  8. Jenna Nestman — Kingdom Elite — 38 
  9. Alexis Magner — Cynisca Cycling — 36
  10. Jenna Mehre — Ride or Die Racing — 34

UTC Butcherbox is running away with the women’s team classification, while the men’s standings are tied

Like the individual standings, UTC Butcherbox is leading the charge with Seitz putting up big points every day. Nevertheless, she isn’t going after it alone. From the first three races, the team has had a presence, controlled what they have needed to control, and always delivered Seitz in the right places at the right time. 

The rest of the team standings are very similar to the individual standings, with one big exception. Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28 is the team that is gathering the most points by committee. With Rylee McMullen and Marlies Mejias both set to continue to hunt for points, expect them to push the team up the rankings by the season’s end. 

Women’s ACC Team Standings 

  1. UTC Butcherbox Cycling — 127 points 
  2. Fount Cycling Guild — 97 
  3. Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty 28 — 89
  4. CCB p/b Levine Law Group — 87
  5. Kingdom Elite — 85

On the men’s side, the battle looks very different as the two top teams are tied on points at 115. Cadence Cyclery, with Lucas Bourgonye leading the way, is a clear contender for the season-long victory. Yet, they may need more than just Bourgonye to net points, as Bikers Cycling Team has built a massive point total through smaller gains throughout the first three races. While Cadence Cyclery will need to balance the objective of winning races with Bourgonye, Bikers will be trying to grab points up and down the top twenty to try to take the team title away from Cadence. 

Men’s ACC Team Standings 

  1. Team Cadence Cyclery — 115 points 
  2. Bikers Cycling Team — 115 points
  3. Golden State Blazers — 108 
  4. Parks Law Firm All Stars — 89
  5. L39ion of Los Angeles — 86 

Summerhill and Mejias lead the sprint classification before it accelerates in the second half 

Photo credit: Utah Crits

The sprint classification is the big unknown out of what is left to play for. The way in which the competition is scored leaves the bigger points for the later races. That means that every race will have more points at the midway point than the race before. While Summerhill and Mejias both sit in the green jerseys as it stands, nothing is settled, and anyone who has scored points thus far will be in with a shout for the final prize. 

Women’s ACC Sprints Leaders

  1. Marlies Mejias — Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty 28 — 5 points 
  2. Bella Krutil — Fount Cycling Guild — 4 
  3. Heidy Praderas — Kingdom Elite Racing — 4
  4. Skylar Schneider — SD Worx Protime — 3
  5. Sam Quijano — Ride or Die Racing — 3 
  6. Grace Arlandson — Automatic Racing — 3 

Men’s ACC Sprints Leaders

  1. Danny Summerhill — L39ion of Los Angeles — 9 points 
  2. Owen Gillott — Chaney Window and Doors — 8 
  3. Riley Wrightsman — First Internet Bank — 3
  4. Brody McDonald — Golden State Blazers — 3
  5. Richard Holec — Cadence Cyclery — 3 

Up next: Boise, Chicago and St. Louis will settle the bill 

Photo credit: American Criterium Cup

With the first half of the calendar wrapped up, everything will be decided in the next three races of the American Criterium Cup. First up after a two-week break will be the Bailey & Glasser LLP Twilight Criterium, before the Chicago Grit Fulton Market Grand Prix follows the next weekend. Last, but not least, will be the grand finale in St. Louis at the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup on Labor Day. Stay tuned for all the racing action as we decide who is crowned the next top American criterium racer.