Chloe Patrick goes gold in the women's U23 time trial in Charleston, West Virginia
Emily Ehrlich of Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28 rides to elite women's victory in the time trial at 2025 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Emily Ehrlich (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) held off Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) to win the women's elite time trial title at the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships in Charleston, West Virginia.
Ehrlich scorched the course with a time of 43:04 to move Alia Shafi (Fount Cycling Guild) out of the hot seat with only one rider to finish, last year's runner-up Faulkner. The EF Education rider crossed the line 27 seconds off the pace of Ehrlich to finish with the silver medal for a second consecutive time. Shafi's time was good for the bronze.
"Today, what can I say, it was awesome. This is everything for me. If there was one thing in cycling when I started riding and racing that I wanted to do, this was it. This really feels like a culmination of it all for me,” Ehrlich told USA Cycling representatives at the finish.
"I’ve been working really hard for this for the past few years just trying to get better and better at this discipline as much as I can. It kind of felt like things were starting to finally come together this year, and I’m really happy to say that it looks like it really is."
Earlier Wednesday morning, Chloe Patrick (Cynisca Cycling) won the women's U23 time trial national championships, improving from a silver medal last year.
Patrick finished the one-lap U23 contest of 16.7km (10.3-mile) in 22:24. Mia Aseltine (Competitive Edge Racing) earned the silver medal, riding just under 12 seconds back. Jorja Bond (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) was next in line for bronze, 27 seconds back.
"This means a lot to me after getting second place last year," Patrick said after her ride. "I’ve been thinking about it all year. It's been a big motivator for my training and I’m really excited to have pulled it off in the end."
How it unfolded
Elite women's time trial podium at 2025 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships, Emily Ehrlich in the stars-and-stripes jersey (Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The under-23 riders were first on the course, riding one circuit of the 16.7km (10.3-mile) course included two turns on a flat, out-and-back course along the Kanawha River. The start ramp and finish line were based adjacent to Haddad Riverfront Park in downtown Charleston with spectators able to see multiple riders navigating the route all morning.
The 20-year-old Patrick was the final competitor in the U23 category, and bumped Aseltine to the silver position. She has now taken a U23 medal in every colour at the U23 time trial event at USPRO Road Championships, having moved from bronze in 2023 to silver in 2024 and now the gold medal with the stars-and-stripes jersey.
Helena Jones (AG Insurance Soudal U23), who was one spot off the podium in fourth, was the only other rider after the top three to stop the clock under the 23-minute mark, finishing 7 seconds behind third-placed Bond.
The elite women competed two laps of the flat course in downtown Charleston, totalling 33.4km (20.7 miles), with the winds and clouds beginning to increase as an indicator of changing weather.
Lisa Becharas (Real Triathlon Squad) went into the hot seat with a time of 45:19 from the first of two waves of riders on the course.
Mid-way through the second wave, the clock began to notch times below the 45-minute mark, first Alia Shafi (Fount Cycling Guild) finishing in 44:36 and then Ehrlich smashing that time by 1 minute, 32 seconds.
Ehrlich came into the championships in top time trial form, having won ITT stages at both Valley of the Sun Stage Race and Tour de Bloom.
Faulkner made the trip to the US from Spain, where she competed at the Vuelta España Femenina two weeks ago. That Women's WorldTour stage race included a team time trial rather, making the USPRO event her first individual time trial competition of the season.
Last year's elite women's champion Taylor Knibb, who stunned the field with the win and earned a ticket on Team USA for the Olympic Games, did not compete. Last year's U23 winner Betty Hasse (Hess Cycling Team), moved to the elite category and finished sixth.
Immediately following the women's time trial events, the men's U23 and elite divisions take the same course for two full laps.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
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