By Sophia Mastice
For HDMedia
The USA Cycling Pro Road Championships kicked off Tuesday — with cyclists riding solo and against the clock in individual time trials — and are set to continue in Charleston through Sunday with about 400 riders competing in six days of races across all classes.
On Wednesday, golden evening light spilled across Summers Street as crowds around Slack Plaza gathered along yellow steel barricades to cheer on the cyclists, many ringing mini cowbells in support of the racers flying by. The bells are a traditional source of fan participation and encouragement for cyclists.
Criteriums are short, flat, fast loop races — for junior (18 and under), U23 and elite racers — consisting of several laps around a closed downtown circuit. Charleston’s route starts and ends at Haddad Riverfront Park, taking cyclists through downtown, passing landmarks like the Kanawha County Courthouse and Charleston City Hall, before taking riders back on Kanawha Boulevard East along the Kanawha River.
Thursday’s criterium races are for elite racers, with the Women’s Elite Criterium set for 6:30 p.m. and the men’s race scheduled to follow at 8 p.m.
Head to the hills
On Friday, look for the junior road race, which will take cyclists on a course farther out in the Charleston area, and featuring changing terrain. The race begins and ends at Haddad Riverfront Park, and will take cyclists from downtown Charleston along Kanawha Boulevard East before climbing Wertz Avenue, descending Oakridge Drive and then rolling back through a downtown section of the course.
The men’s junior road race is at 9 a.m. and consists of seven laps, or about 63 miles total. The women’s junior race will follow at 1:30 p.m., with racers making four laps, about 36 miles. Award ceremonies will follow both races at Haddad Riverfront Park.
The weekend will see the continuation of the road races for the U23 and elite classes of the tournament on a longer course.
On Saturday, the women’s and men’s U23 races will again start and finish at Haddad Riverfront Park, with the women’s race at 9 a.m. and the men’s at 1 p.m. This race will take participants over the same course that the juniors rode, but adds a climb up Bridge Road into South Hills and then down to Kanawha State Forest and back as spectators can see cyclists bombing down Loudon Heights Road on the way back downtown. Downhill speeds can exceed 40 mph. The women’s race will be 57.5 miles in distance — or five laps in length— and the men’s ride will be 83 miles, seven laps.
On Sunday, the elite riders follow the same course as the Saturday riders. The men ride a 10-lap, 123-mile race. The women will complete six laps, or 71 miles, on the same course. The women’s elite road race starts at 8 a.m., with the men’s to follow at 1 p.m.
Keep on rolling
The event has a large economic impact on the city. In 2024, it brought in $4.6 million, and $6.9 million in 2025. Charleston area businesses, hotels and restaurants are among those benefitting from the races, according to the economic impact report released by Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau in July 2025, which also indicated that year’s USA Cycling event supported more than 1,000 jobs and generated $591,000 in local taxes.
The championships are in their third year in Charleston and will return annually through 2028.
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