Maple Ridge pro cyclist Maggie Coles-Lyster is coming off a second-place finish at a race in Belgium, and is competing over the coming week in Italy.
Coles-Lyster sprinted to second place at GP Mazda Schelkens, a 134 km race in Borsbeek, Belgium. It was her second podium finish of 2026. She races for the Human Powered Health cycling team.
Coles-Lyster said criterium racing in North America – which is multiple laps around a closed road circuit, helped her to the silver finish.
“It’s basically a race like a crit, like a super fast circuit race, lots of corners. The finish is always kind of interesting, the way it curves around to the right,” she explained. “My background is in crits, so this fast, punchy style of racing is basically in my DNA.”
Now she is competing in the Giro d’Italia Women from May 30 to June 7. La Corsa Rosa is one of the longest-running stage races in women’s cycling, with one of the richest histories. There are nine stages over 1,177 km from Cesenatico in the east to Saluzzo in the northwest. There are flat stages, hilly tests, an uphill time trial and mountain days.
“I’m super excited for this Giro. There’s usually only one day at a big stage-race earmarked for sprinters, but to come and have four opportunities is super sick, because you don’t get that a lot,” said Coles-Lyster.
“It’s going to be a big fight each of those days, and that’s really cool when you have a bunch of teams there ready to do the lead-outs and make it a good sprint battle.”
She has been training in a bodysuit for heat training.
“That has really helped with the hot racing days in Belgium, and I felt that benefit already,” she said. “I expect we will have some super-hot days in Italy as well, so that preparation for it has topped up my readiness.”
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