Multi-discipline sprinter Maggie Coles-Leister started the 2022 season with a podium finish and a win with the DNA Pro Cycling Team, the women's Continental road team At the end of team camp in March, the 23-year-old Canadian known as "Magnum" rider won the third stage of the Tucson Bicycle Classic and emptied another oversized bottle of sparkling wine.

A year ago, she began her first full season in road cycling, finishing second in the overall individual standings of the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour and USA Crit Series, and winning the Ahmed Force Cycling Classic and Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, and finished in the top half of the standings at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic.

After 10 podium finishes in criteriums across the U.S., she skipped the off-season to be one of 72 elite racers in the UCI Track Champions League, which took place in November and December. Her love of track began as a grade schooler in western Canada; she won a junior track world title in a points race in 2017 and believes track is her path to the Olympics.

"I've dreamed of being an Olympic gold medalist since I started racing at the age of eight, so I'm going to try to make it to Paris 2024 in the Omnium, Madison, and Team Pursuit," said Coles-Leister, who will compete in the April 21-24 Glasgow UCI Track Nations Cup," she told Cycling News from Scotland, where she arrived last week to participate in the Track Nations Cup. [The Commonwealth Games and Track World Championships will be his other target races on the track. In Glasgow, I will be competing in the Omnium and Eliminations, both events I have been focusing on for the past four years. Our (Canadian) Team Pursuit is a very new and young team, and we were fourth at the World Championships last year.

At last year's Champions League, she finished three points off the podium in the women's endurance division after four races in Spain, Lithuania, and Great Britain. She is one of the athletes featured this summer in Back on Track, a documentary series about the league that will be released on April 4 through GCN+ and Eurosport.

In between track events, Coles-Leister will switch from her red Maple Leaf national kit to the bright pink colors of DNA Pro Cycling to lead her team in the American Criterium Cup series and make her return to stage racing. Her team is currently competing in the Redlands Bicycle Classic in California. The race is a five-day race on the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour and was reinstated after a two-year hiatus due to a coronavirus outbreak.

"The team is focused on the series, but will also be competing in the revived North American classic stage races (Redlands, Gila, Jo Martin). We believe we are really strong in the stage races and gravel races, but we will focus on winning the crit races and playing a support role chasing sprint points in the stage races," said Coles-Leister.

Just before his 19th birthday in February 2018, he was hospitalized after a violent crash in the final scratch race of the omnium at the Six Day Copenhagen track event. She suffered multiple fractures to her face and ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. She was able to ride her bike in about two weeks, but it took her several months to fully recover from her post-concussion symptoms.

She said she is looking forward to "calling herself a stage racer again." She is also still a U23 rider and has big plans to dominate the category with teammates Caitlin Lauwelda (Canada) and Kira Payer (USA).

"After some nasty crashes and concussions in 2018 and losing strength during recovery, I lost confidence in road racing. To finish in the top 10 in GC in last year's Jo Martin stage race and be called a stage racer again is a big deal for me."

He will not be able to compete in the May 21 Rochester Twilight Criterium, the second round of the American Criterium Cup, as he will be competing in the UCI 2.2 Jo Martin stage race on May 19-22. However, the eight races on the series calendar will be her moment of truth if she wants to compete for a share of the $100,000 prize money, which will be split equally between the elite men and women at the end of the season.

"A series with points is cool, a series with prize money is epic. Criterium racing is great for the riders, great for the fans, and great for the communities we race in. Criteriums are fun for riders and fans alike, and it's one of the reasons I love racing in the U.S."

Coles-Leister, who struggled mightily in the final spurt of the Sunny King Criterium, chased the back wheel of Skylar Schneider (L39LION, Los Angeles), but was able to make it through the pavement to win. She led the sprint points in the one-hour race and tied for the overall lead with Skylar Schneider. She was not worried about missing one race.

"What motivates me to wear my DNA kit every day is to get stronger and win more races. I want to win for my teammates who trust me. But more importantly, I want to win for the team that has supported and given opportunities to women cyclists and dedicated all their time and effort for the past 10 years. I wear this kit every day because it is in my DNA."