The USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships opened Tuesday in Charleston, West Virginia, with Taylor Knibb and Artem Shmidt (Netcompany INEOS) claiming elite time trial victories and the first elite stars-and-stripes jerseys of the week.
Knibb, a two-time Olympic medalist and three-time Ironman 70.3 world champion, captured her second elite women’s national time trial title on the pancake flat course, finishing 45 seconds ahead of defending champion Emily Ehrlich (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty28). Gravel specialist and Life Time Grand Prix competitor Paige Onweller completed the podium, 1:14 behind the winner.
“It was a great race. I was thrilled to come back here after 2024,” Knibb said after the finish.
Knibb previously won the title here in 2024, thereby earning a starting position in the Olympic time trial alongside her triathlon campaign at the Paris Games. Despite crashing multiple times on the treacherous rain-slicked course, she persevered to finish 19th in a field of 34 riders in what was only the third time trial of her cycling career.
With the Los Angeles Olympics less than two years away, Knibb’s dominant ride suggests she remains a serious contender to represent the United States again in the discipline.
In the men’s race. Netcompany INEOS’ Artem Shmidt successfully defended his national time title. The 22-year-old Georgia-native held a steady 52.32 kph (32 mph) throughout the 33.4km (20.7-mile) course to best Lawrence Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) by 10.17 seconds. William Barta (Tudor Pro Cycling team) rounded out the podium in third, 15.60 seconds off Shmidt’s winning time.
“It was pretty windy out there, to be honest, but I was able to come away with the win, so I feel pretty good now, but during the moment, it did not feel good at all,” said Shmidt at the finish.
Notably absent from the time trial were several top American riders currently committed to WorldTour and international racing schedules, including the likes of Brandon McNulty, Matteo Jorgenson and reigning Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The elite championships continue Thursday evening with the criterium races in downtown Charleston. The women’s race begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT, followed by the men’s race at 8 p.m. Both events will be streamed live on FloBikes.
Then, on Sunday, the peloton is in for a punchy challenge in the road race with a course that features 1,126 feet of elevation gain per 13-mile lap.
In 2025, Kristen Faulkner and Quinn Simmons each claimed their second elite national titles, setting the stage for a potential hat trick in 2026.
The women’s elite field will cover six laps, for a total of 113.8 km (70 miles) of racing, starting at 8 a.m. EDT. The men’s race will consist of 10 laps, or 198.6 km (123.4 miles), starting at 1 p.m. Both races will again be streamed live on FloBikes.
