USA National Road Championships: Artem Shmidt earns first U23 title with time trial victory

Artem Shmidt (Hagens Berman Jayco) secured his first U23 national title Wednesday as he won the individual time trial at USA Cycling Pro Road Championships in Charleston, West Virginia. 

The 20-year-old Georgia native completed the two circuits on the flat 20.9-mile (33.7km) course in 38:52. He was a full one minute faster than Troy Fields (Team Califonia p/b Verge) and Owen Cole (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z), with Fields taking the silver medal by four-hundredths of a second. 

Colby Simmons (Visma-Lease a Bike U23) finished fourth from the 29-rider field, seven seconds off the winning time. 

Shmidt, who had won two ITT national titles as a junior, recorded the fastest time at the intermediate check and sailed away for the victory. It was Cole who made the most of his second lap on the out-and-back course that followed the banks of the Kanawha River, moving from fifth position to the final spot on the podium.

"Super blessed for the opportunity to put on the Stars and Stripes jersey once again. It’s been a while … so a relief to finally win the TT title in the U23," Shmidt told Cyclingnews. 

"I had no expectations going into today. All I wanted to do was give it my best effort, put it all on the line, and whatever the result from that is, then it is what it is. Luckily enough, it was a win.

"I have put in a lot of work this winter and recently spending time on altitude for this event. I can say that my training wasn’t all TT focused, I did a lot of training in the mountains but very blessed nonetheless."

The 2024 road nationals marked the first time the U23 men's events were hosted alongside the Pro divisions, as the under-23 men previously raced on a different calendar date and course as part of USA Cycling's Amateur National Championships. 

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling