The 2024 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships continued Wednesday morning with the Men’s and Women’s Elite and U23 Time Trial events. Over 100 athletes from around the country completed the 33.7-kilometer course in downtown Charleston. Nearly 50 of those athletes were vying for a Paris 2024 Olympic Games team nomination.
ELITE WOMEN’S TIME TRIAL
The Elite Women took center stage on the heels of the U23 Women’s wave. Finishing in a time of 41:54.69, triathlete Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing) won the National Title in her second-ever Time Trial National Championship. This nominates her for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games team. A year ago, she qualified for the USA Triathlon team at the Paris test event and has now punched her ticket to Paris for USA Cycling. Knibb was stunned when she sat down in the hot seat saying, “I’m in shock. I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m just in shock. Last year was hard for the TT [National Championship]. And there are so many incredible riders out here, it was such an incredible day riding with them.”
As a professional triathlete, she went into today’s race knowing that the course suited her. “There were four turns and that's it. Last year, there were so many turns and my coach said, ‘You're really good at holding race pace. Your weakness is getting to race pace.’ So, there were only four times that I had to get to race pace, and that was a relief for me. If it was a little bit more surgy, it would have probably favored some other women a lot better,” said Knibb. This route was quite similar to the course the riders will be seeing in Paris – both virtually flat and roughly 33km.
Knibb excelled in today’s event, but not without some heavy competition behind her. 2024 La Vuelta Femenina stage winner Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF Education-Cannondale) kept pressing on. At the first split, Faulkner was only 0.2 seconds behind Knibb holding on to her pace. She ultimately finished in second. 49-year-old Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.) rounded out the podium in third.
Results:
- Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.; Trek Factory Racing)
- Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska; EF Education-Cannondale)
- Amber Neben (Lake Forest, Calif.)
ELITE MEN’S TIME TRIAL
The Elite Men had over 28 athletes vying for the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey. Finishing in a time of 37:42.08, Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Ariz.; UAE Team Emirates) beat second place finisher Tyler Stites (Tucson, Ariz.; Project Echelon Racing) by just under a minute.
McNulty has had a busy season having raced since January. When asked about what was going through his head in the final stretch, McNulty said, “I knew there was a headwind in the final stretch, I knew that would be the last big push, and I was dying. Then luckily, I had a couple guys to catch in front of me to keep me motivated and pushing. But yeah, I was really suffering in the last few kilometers.” With today’s win, McNulty will be nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for Team USA in his second Games appearance. When asked about how this accomplishment compares to others, he said, “Yeah, it’s definitely big, I’m super happy. It's always special to win a National Title, but this one had a bit more importance to qualify for the Olympics. This is a big one for me.”
The rain came pouring down just in time for the last wave to start. Neilson Powless (Houston; EF Education – Easypost) has had plenty of experience racing in similar conditions this year. He rounded out the podium finishing in a time of 38:44.17.
Results:
- Brandon McNulty (Phoenix; UAE Team Emirates)
- Tyler Stites (Tucson, Ariz.; Project Echelon Racing)
- Neilson Powless (Houston; EF Education – Easypost)
U23 WOMEN’S TIME TRIAL
Defending U23 National Champion, Betty Hasse (Providence, R.I.; CCB p/b Levine Law Group) was the last rider out and quickly found her way to the hot seat with a time of 45:38.85. Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; Cynisca Cycling) finished in second with Ella Brenneman (Gibsonia, Pa.; CCB p/b Levine Law Group) rounding out the podium in third.
Results:
- Betty Hasse (Providence, R.I.; CCB p/b Levine Law Group)
- Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; Cynisca Cycling)
- Ella Brenneman (Gibsonia, Pa.; CCB p/b Levine Law Group)
U23 MEN’S TIME TRIAL
Finishing in a time of 38:52.17, Artem Shmidt (Cumming, Ga.; Hagens Berman Axeon) won the National Title. Troy Fields (Hendersonville, Tenn.; Team California P/B Verge) finished in second with Owen Cole (Chapel Hill, N.C.; UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) rounding out the podium in third.
Results:
- Artem Shmidt (Cumming, Ga.; Hagens Berman Axeon)
- Troy Fields (Hendersonville, Tenn.; Team California P/B Verge)
- Owen Cole (Chapel Hill, N.C.; UAE Team Emirates Gen Z)
UP NEXT
Racing resumes tomorrow evening at 6:30PM ET for night one of the twilight criterium. Junior Women, Junior Men, and U23 Men will be first to take on the course that runs through downtown Charleston.
Follow along throughout the week on social media @USACycling, along with the live timing and livestream on FloSports. Learn more about how to watch here.
Photo By: Snowy Mountain Photography
