Luke Elphingstone took out the elite men's criterium title at the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships in Charleston, with the 23-year-old stepping it up a level as he shifted up the categories.
"At the start of the year, this was my ‘A’ goal, so I’m just really happy to deliver for the team," said the new elite men's criterium champion.
Elphingstone, who took bronze in the U23 men's criterium last year, won a hard-fought sprint from among a group of nine after the break got away early and held off the chase. The Project Echelon Racing competitor claimed the title ahead of Brody McDonald (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling) while Gavin Hlady (EF Education-Aevolo) was third at the 90-minute race.
"It was pretty hard when we first went, but the adrenaline was high, and we settled in," said Elphingstone of the break. "Once we got it to like 55 seconds, with a lap to go, I knew if I just followed the right wheels, I had the sprint to do it.”
Last year's winner, Lucas Bourgoyne (Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Waldo Racing), was back in the group of 14 that crossed the line 55 seconds after the title had been claimed, so the defending champion had to settle for 11th place at the rain-speckled twilight criterium.
Earlier in the evening, Kendall Ryan (Caldera Medical x Aurea Racing) claimed the women's elite criterium title for a second year in a row.
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Top 10
Position
Rider (Country) Team
Time Gap
1
Luke Elphingstone (USA) Project Echelon Racing
1:31:17
2
Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure
Row 1 - Cell 2
3
Gavin Hlady (USA) Ef Education- Aevolo
Row 2 - Cell 2
4
Alexander Scopinich Burgel (USA) Kelly Benefits Cycling
Row 3 - Cell 2
5
Preston Eye (USA) Clif Family Drifters Cycling
Row 4 - Cell 2
6
Riley Wrightsman (USA) Chaney Windows and Doors Big Shark PB Pastaria
Row 5 - Cell 2
7
Hugo Scala Jr. (USA) Modern Adventure
Row 6 - Cell 2
8
Tyler Mlujeak (USA) Top Step Development
0:00:08
9
Caleb Classen (USA) Project Echelon Racing
0:00:17
10
Alejandro Che (USA) Kelly Benefits Cycling
0:00:55
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Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
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