USA Cycling Pro Road Championships 2025 routes

The 2025 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships returns to Charleston, West Virginia from May 20-26 for a second year, moving one week later on the calendar and culminating on the Memorial Day holiday. A total of 18 stars-and-stripes jerseys will be offered across Junior 17-18, U23 and elite divisions for men and women in the three road disciplines - time trial, criterium and road race.

FloBikes will provide live coverage of four of the events, beginning with the US Pro Criterium races for elite women and men on Friday, May 23, beginning at 7:45 p.m. EDT. On Monday, May 26 the US Pro Road Races for elite women and men will be broadcast, beginning at 8 a.m. EDT for the women and then following the men from a 1 p.m. EDT start through to the finish.

Organisers, which include the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau with support from the City of Charleston, have made logistics easy for spectators and competitors, with all start/finish lines and awards ceremonies returning to Haddad Riverfront Park in downtown Charleston adjacent to the Kanawha River.

Individual time trials

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The individual time trial events will take place on the proven courses used in 2024, which take place on a flat 16.7km (10.4-mile) course that hugs the Kanawha River next to the city centre. The route start ramp and finish line are in close proximity next to Haddad Riverfront Park, with just two turns on an out-and-back course.

Junior 17-18 women take the course first on Tuesday, May 20 at 9 a.m. EDT, followed by the Junior 17-18 men. The junior women complete one lap while the junior men will cover two laps.

On Wednesday, the U23 women will begin a full day of competitions with one full lap, followed by the elite women making two laps of the same course for a total of 33.4km. After the awards ceremony for the women, the U23 men, followed by the elite men, will also make two passes on the course for ITT champions to be crowned.

Criteriums

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Criterium events return to downtown Charleston using the same six-corner circuit as last year. Kanawha Boulevard be used for the exciting events, the starts and finishes next to Haddad Riverfront Park. All races will proceed in a clockwise direction, making turns onto Court, Lee, Summers, Quarrier and Hale streets to complete the circuit back on Kanawha Boulevard. 

Thursday evening opens the fast and furious racing with Junior 17-18 women taking the course at 6:30 p.m. local time and riding 45 minutes. The Junior 17-18 men follow for a 60-minute contest. Tthe U23 women have a dedicated race, no longer part of the elite women's event, stating at 8:45 p.m. for a 50-minute race. U23 men will conclude the schedule with a 75-minute race.

On Friday night a handcycle team relay event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the criterium course. The elite women will follow at 7:45 p.m. for 75 minutes of racing. The elite men’s race is expected to start at 9:15 p.m. and battle for one stars-and-stripes jersey across 90 minutes.

Road races

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The signature events for race week are the US Pro Road Races, with the three divisions having their own days on the challenging courses which were used last year. The U23 athletes will open road race competitions on Saturday, followed by juniors on Sunday and elites on Monday, Memorial Day bank holiday in the US.

Both the women and men juniors will compete on a 14.5km (9-mile) loop with one major climb on Wertz Avenue, which averages 5.5% over 2.3km. Junior 17-18 men will battle over six laps of the course, a total of 87km, while the Junior 17-18 women will complete four laps for 58km.

A longer 21km (13.1-mile) circuit that includes a loop across the Kanawha River and two climbs, will be used for U23 and elite races. In addition to the Wertz Avenue climb, the longer loop features the Bridge Road climb, which presents a stiff 20.4% gradient at the bottom and then averages 5.5% for the full 2.1km.

The U23 and Elite fields will open with two laps of the junior course, and then include the longer circuit for additional laps. For the first time, the U23 women will have a dedicated race which reflects the changes the UCI made to provide a U23 women's race at the World Championships.

The U23 women will lead off the road races at 9 a.m. on Saturday and complete five laps (two junior laps, three long laps) for a total of 92.6km. The U23 men follow Saturday with seven laps for a total of 148km. 

On Sunday the junior fields take centre stage, the 17-18 men starting at 8:00 a.m. for 87km, which will be six full laps of the junior course. The 17-18 women will start at 12:30 p.m. for 58k, four full laps of the junior course.

The championships conclude Monday with elite road races, the women starting at 8:00 a.m. for six laps (two of those on the junior course) and cover 113.8km. The elite men take the start at 1 p.m. and will make 10 laps for a total of 198.6km. Both these races will be broadcast live on FloBikes.