The fifth day of racing at the 2025 USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships brought high-speed action to downtown Charleston as the Elite Men and Women battled it out on the technical six-corner criterium course.
Forty-six elite women lined up for 75-minutes of racing, vying for the Stars and Stripes jersey. From the beginning Fount Cycling Guild launched the first attack five minutes into the race with a large surge from Tess Edwards (Ojai, Calif.; Cynisca Cycling) who tested the field with the first move of the night. Attacks continued between Fount, Cynisca, and L39ion of Los Angeles. Every time Fount made a move, Cynisca or L39ion of Los Angeles would reel it back. Andrea Cyr (Carmel, Ind.; Fount Cycling Guild) pulled away at 23 minutes, while several of her teammates rolled to the front to block the counter move. Then Allison Mrugal (West Chester, Penn.; Cynisca Cycling) and Holly Breck (Chino, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles) countered. All three riders came together but were later pulled back by the group. Attack after attack, the race was full of energy from the gun. Any move that tried to pull away was brought back by key riders like Laurel Rathbun (Encinitas, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles). With four laps left, the race was all together, aside from the riders that were dropped off the back due to the high pace. Attacks continued throughout the closing laps as teams started setting up for a field sprint. With one lap to go, Cyr launched an attack but was quickly reeled in. Breck took over at the front to begin the lead-out, delivering teammate Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles) into the final turn. From there, Ryan launched into her sprint and claimed a decisive victory. Alexis Magner (Athens, Ga.; Cynisca Cycling) crossed the line in second, with her teammate Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; Cynisca Cycling) managing to hold on to third, racing in her third event of the weekend.
“I’m seeing Stars and Stripes right now,” said Ryan. “I’m in a great mood and I’m super happy with how my team rode, and there’s only three of us in the race. I think we just orchestrated the race and played it really well. I’m so proud of them, proud of myself. I didn’t have a great start to the season. I had a concussion in March, so I’m just finally feeling like myself again and glad to be back in the Stars and Stripes jersey.”
When asked about how her teammates performed, Ryan said, “Yeah, I didn’t really have to do anything today and I owe this win to them. I mean they selflessly covered every single move they needed to be in. I think they couldn’t have raced any better. They were there when they needed to be and were really smart about how they spent their energy. It was really important that I had teammates today because it would have been a lot different.”
Results:
1. Kendall Ryan (Ventura, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles)
2. Alexis Magner (Athens, Ga.; Cynisca Cycling)
3. Chloe Patrick (Carson, Calif.; Cynisca Cycling)
The Elite Men’s race headlined Friday evening, with 49 riders racing for 90 minutes. Project Echelon Racing, the largest team in the field, immediately took control at the front to set the tempo. Just five minutes in, a small group which included Daniel Uhranowsky (Pittsburgh, Penn.; Visit Pittsburgh), Robin Carpenter (Chino, Calif.; L39ion of Los Angeles), and Fergus Arthur (Bloomington, Ind.; Foundation Cycling New York) gained a slight advantage, but the Project Echelon train kept them within reach. A few solo attacks tried to animate the field, with rider Brody McDonald (Milligan College, Tenn.; Golden State Blazers) the next to test his legs. The eight Project Echelon riders lined up at the front to keep the pace high. At the 23-minute mark, Liam Flanagan (Black Mountain, N.C.; Team Skyline), Trevor August (Pittsford, N.Y.; Above + Beyond Cancer Cycling Team), and Carpenter managed to establish a break, opening a small gap on the field. Project Echelon remained unfazed, keeping the trio within striking distance, hovering around 10-seconds. The break was brought back by the 40-minute mark. Soon after, Colby Simmons (Durango, Colo.; EF Education–EasyPost) launched an attack, disrupting the Project Echelon train and giving other teams a chance to take control. The move sparked a flurry of attacks over the next 30 minutes, but none were able to stick. With fewer than 10 laps remaining, the pace ramped up as teams fought for position. At five laps to go Project Echelon worked their way back up to the front to organize themselves for the sprint. With free laps exhausted, an untimely crash near the front of the field with four laps to go fractured the peloton, leaving roughly 20 riders in contention for the National Title. A chaotic final lap saw elbows flying and tension high but through the last corner, it was anyone’s race. In the end, it was Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin, Texas; Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire) overcoming the Echelon team’s tactics and taking the victory and the National Title. Scott McGill (Fallston, Md.; Project Echelon Racing) held on for second, narrowly edging out Simmons, who took third.
“I knew we needed to stay relaxed, we knew Echelon would ride early. I had my boys with me and we were testing the line in the back to see how fast we could take the corners without crashing. I guess it paid off a little bit,” said Bourgoyne.
The Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire team has had a strong week so far. Teammate Luke Fetzer won last night's under-23 criterium, then helped Bourgoyne score his win in the elite race tonight. When asked about how it feels to be on the team right now Bourgoyne said “We would like to coin ourselves as America’s team right now since we’ve got both jerseys. If we could stop the year right here, this weekend makes it all...we love West Virginia and we can’t wait to be back.”
Bourgoyne credited his success to his teammates saying, “It all came together...this is what we do all year long. We came here to show everyone we are the best criterium team in the country and we did exactly that.”
Results:
1. Lucas Bourgoyne (Austin, Texas; Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Encore Wire)
2. Scott McGill (Fallston, Md.; Project Echelon Racing)
3. Colby Simmons (Durango, Colo.; EF Education - Easypost)
Tomorrow kicks off the road races through the hills of West Virginia. The under-23 women start at 9:00 AM ET followed by the under-23 men at 1:00 PM ET.
Follow along throughout the week on social media @USACycling, along with the live timing and livestream on FloBikes. Learn more about how to watch the events here.
USA Cycling's supporting partner for this event includes HOVERAir, the Official Flying Camera of USA Cycling, who shares our mission to elevate the sport and inspire the next generation of cyclists.
