L39ION of Los Angeles has confirmed Skylar Schneider as a key addition to its 2026 women’s squad, bringing one of the most prolific US domestic sprinters back into the programme that helped shape her rise. The announcement leaned heavily into the homecoming narrative, framing Schneider’s return as a statement of intent, with the team describing her as arriving with “fire in her eyes and unfinished business on her mind” and adding the line, “The queen has returned”.
Schneider, now 27, was part of L39ION’s original co-ed roster when the project launched in 2021 with a clear emphasis on US one-day racing and criteriums. After three productive seasons under the L39ION banner and a spell with Miami Blazers, she spent 2025 on the Women’s WorldTour with SD Worx-Protime. Now she is back on home roads, with a 2026 season designed around the domestic calendar and the kind of repeated sprint opportunities that suit her best.
Cyclingnews previously quoted Schneider summing up her motivations simply: “I absolutely love criterium racing.”
Key points
- Skylar Schneider returns to L39ION of Los Angeles for the 2026 season, with a clear focus on US domestic racing.
- She was a foundational rider for L39ION in 2021 and built a huge results base across criteriums and road races before heading back to Europe in 2025.
- L39ION’s 2026 women’s squad will operate as a US domestic elite team, built around a refreshed roster and sprint depth.
Why this move matters for Schneider’s 2026 goals
Schneider’s return reads like a rider choosing the racing that most reliably brings out her strengths. In Europe with SD Worx-Protime, she raced through a range of spring classics and stage races, including the Tour of Britain and Baloise Ladies Tour, a schedule that is often defined by positioning battles, relentless pace changes, and fewer clean sprint finishes for a rider targeting results.
Her best headline result from that year was a silver medal at the Pan-American Road Championships in the road race. That stands out because it reflects her ability to deliver on a big day, even in a season that did not consistently fall her way.
Back in the US scene, the rhythm changes. The calendar offers more criteriums and one-day opportunities where repeated sprint finishes are central rather than incidental. That matters for a rider who has long been defined by acceleration, timing, and the ability to read a frantic final kilometre.
There is also a specific target hanging over this return. In 2024, Schneider reportedly amassed 28 podiums, including seven wins, and secured both the sprint and individual titles in the American Criterium Cup. Yet she still finished fourth at the USPro Criterium, the national crown that remains the obvious missing piece. This move, in plain terms, looks like a reset toward that objective.
The 2026 squad, and what the roster tells us
L39ION’s women’s programme will race as a US domestic elite team in 2026, and the roster structure reflects a rebuild around a clear leader.
Holly Breck is the sole returning rider from last year’s group, and her late-season results provide a useful marker of what she can contribute. She ended the season with fourth at Bucks County Classic and recorded three top 10s across the four-day Gateway Cup, suggesting a rider capable of consistency in the exact environment L39ION wants to control.
Breck’s wider background also adds texture. She has spent three years racing with Torelli in Europe and has raced at continental level with teams including DNA Pro Cycling and Rally Cycling, now Human Powered Health. That mix of European experience and US racing familiarity can be a real asset in a domestic squad, especially when the goal is to execute lead-outs repeatedly across a long summer calendar.
Joyce Monton and Alexandrine Obrand also join the squad, adding depth and options across different race types. The key pairing, though, is the one that will draw immediate attention.
The Schneider sisters reunion
Skylar will race alongside her sister Samantha Schneider again at L39ION, after the duo last rode together two years ago with Miami Blazers. Samantha returns after two seasons with the Blazers, which included second place at the Tour of Somerville in 2024. She also took part of 2025 away from racing to give birth to her second child, making her return another storyline inside the squad.
They have also continued working together away from racing as co-owners of a bakery, The Bread Pedalers, in their hometown of West Allis, Wisconsin. That detail matters because it hints at a partnership that is already well-drilled, not just in racing terms but in the day-to-day trust and teamwork that can translate into effective sprint organisation.
Familiar rivals, and a domestic scene that keeps moving
The US criterium and one-day scene never stays still, and Schneider’s return brings her straight back into a familiar web of rivalries. Former L39ION teammates will line up as opponents, including Kendall Ryan, a three-time USPro criterium champion now racing for Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing, and Alexis Magner, who is moving to EF Education-Oatly after finishing second at USPro criterium in 2025.
That matters because Schneider is not returning to an easier field. She is returning to a sharper one, with more defined team structures and more riders arriving with Europe-conditioned speed.
L39ION of Los Angeles 2026 women’s roster
- Holly Breck (USA)
- Joyce Monton (PHI)
- Alexandrine Obrand (CAN)
- Samantha Schneider (USA)
- Skylar Schneider (USA)
